


Trapped

by Doggodoaattack



Category: Game Grumps, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anxiety, Blood, Blood and Gore, Depression, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Self-Harm, Survivor Guilt, Torture, Violence, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 26,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23518303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doggodoaattack/pseuds/Doggodoaattack
Summary: Felix, Jack and Danny get kidnapped.Thats about it...Edit: Okay so there's more now.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 72
Kudos: 152





	1. Who is it

Felix woke up to the smell of mildew and blood. He tried to remember the events of the night before, but he couldn't remember anything after he left to get groceries. He took stock of his surroundings, which was not easy to do as it was almost pitch black in the room. It seemed to be a basement or cellar of some sort. He tried to move, only to realize he was tied to a chair on the wall opposite a big metal door. 

His breath hitched. Don't panic. Panicking will not help. He took another look around the room. There were 2 other people here with him. One tied to a chair on the wall to his left, one on the right. He couldn't make out their faces, but they were both hunched over, still unconscious. He was about to try and speak to them as he heard the door start to open.

The light shone through the door, temporarily blinding Felix, until the mysterious man shut the door behind him. The man was so tall he had to duck to get through the door that was easily 6 and half feet tall. His shoulders were twice as wide as Felixs, and his arms were ripped. This man could kill him in 5 seconds if he wanted to.

“Well well. Looks like one of you is finally awake. And its Pewdiepie, the greatest youtuber around! I'll be honest, I gave them more sedative than you. I wanted to play with you first. Do you know where you are, Pewdiepie?” The man asked in the deepest voice he had ever heard. He shook his head, not wanting to respond. The man looked pleased.

“Good. I'd have to kill you if you did. Now let's get to it. I've been needing to take my anger out on someone all day. Now, I have my 3 pets for this exact reason. Which one should I do today? Don't worry, I won't kill any of you, not yet anyway. Where's the fun in that? So your choice. You or one of these losers?” The question was simple enough, and Felix wasn’t about to let these random people get beaten while they were unconscious.

“Me, take it out on me.” He said confidently. The man liked that. He smiled as he reeled back and punched Felix full force in the head. He hadn't been expecting it to hurt that much. His ears rang and the room spun. He felt the urge to throw up as another fist was thrown his way. And another, and another. Felix felt himself start to pass out when the 5th fist went flying at his face. Before everything faded to black he heard the man speak.

“You will be rewarded for this, down worry.”

~~

Felix woke up in the basement, this time laying on the ground. His chair was gone, replaced by a shackle around his ankle, connected to the wall. He started to sit up, resisting the urge to vomit as the world around him spun. His head was pounding and he could haste blood. He pulled his hands away from his head to see they were covered in blood. His blood. Perfect

Felix looked at the other two figures in the room. They were each roughly 5 feet away, but he still couldn't see their faces. They remained in the chairs they were in before. Was being bolted to the cold hard basement floor his reward? Some reward… his eyes wandered up the chain, to the wall. There were 2 others on the wall, only a foot away from his own. He put his back to the wall and rested his throbbing head on the cold cement. He guessed the others would be joining him at the wall when they woke up. No sooner did he think it, that the figure on his right stirred awake.

The man lifted his head, finally revealing his face to Felix. He looked strikingly familiar, but he couldn't place his face for the life of him, the pounding headache wasn't helping. The man struggled with his restraints, quickly giving up. He started to look around and locked eyes with Felix.

“Where am I?.” The man asked. His voice was even more familiar than his face. Where did he know him from?

“I dunno. The only info I've been able to gather is that we've been kidnapped.” Felix responded as he closed his eyes in pain. 

“Pewdiepie?” The man asked. He wasn't surprised. He was recognized everywhere, why not during his kidnapping.

“In the flesh.” He said, lifting his hands to cradle his head.

“I wasn't able to recognize you with all that… blood on your face.” When Felix didn't respond, the man started to talk again. “I always wanted to meet you. Arin said he would try to introduce me.” Felixs eyes shot open. Arin. Who's Arin?

“Who are you?” He asked his fellow hostage. 

“Oh yeah, sorry. Dan. From Game Grumps. Sucks that we had to meet like this, huh?” Dan responded. That's where he knew him from. The other half of the grumps.

“Oh yeah. Danny sexbang. Good to meet you dude.” Felix got quiet as he looked at the 3rd body in the room.

“So if you're Dan from gamegrumps, then I doubt that he's just a random guy.” He said gesturing to the unconscious man. Dan looked at him, as if he just noticed they were not the only two there.

“Who do you think it is?” He asked. Felix didn't get a chance to respond, as they heard the man start to groan, rolling his head up to meet the eyes of the other two.

Jack.


	2. Cutting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More torture.

The first thing the pair noticed when Jack rolled his head up, was that he looked terrible. He had a huge gash across his cheek, it looked infected. His lip was busted and he had a huge bruise covering his left eye. The most concerning thing was his head. He had a bruise the size of a softball above his eyebrow, and it was cut up a bit and bleeding. It looked as though his head was bashed into a wall. 

Jack lifted his head up and opened his eyes. They immediately rolled back in his head, his head returning to its limp state. He passed out again.

“No, Sean… Hey!” Dan pleaded with Jack to wake back up.

“Well that's not good.” Felix said, shooting a concerned look at Dan. Dan immediately started struggling to get out of his restraints, his chair almost tipping over in the process.  
“Dude stop! All you're going to do is tip over.”

Dan stopped struggling, Felix wasn't sure if it was because of his words, or the fact that the door was opening. 

The man ducked into the room, and the first thing the boys saw was the knife in his hand. The man looked at Dan and became visibly excited.

“Oh goodie! You're awake. Now we can finally start playing the game! I'm so excited.” He looked giddie as he went over and cut through Dans restraints. He gestured with the knife for him to move by Felix. Dan did as instructed, not wanting to get stabbed. The man reached down and grabbed the cuff lying on the ground. He attached it to Dans ankle with care, as if not to hurt him in the process. He stood back up to admire his work. 

“What's wrong with Jack?” Dan asked, still standing face to face with their kidnapper. He looked at Jack and started to chuckle.

“Yeah, you two were easy. In and out. I had you both on the ground before you realized anything even happened. He saw me coming.” The man rolled up his sleeve to expose his forearm, a big gash going from elbow to wrist. The man had a look of remorse on his face. “Little fucker. I kinda lost my temper. He should be fine. Maybe.” He pulled his sleeve back down, a sinister smile settling on his face. “So it's time for the game. Who wants it?” He asked, lifting the blade up. 

“What? Who wants it?” Dan didn't know what he ment. Felix did. 

“Yeah. I'm going to cut one of you up. We're going to start off easy. Wouldn't want you dying too early.” He laughed at that. “Choose or i'll just do it to all of you. Pewdiepie, Danny Sexbang or Jacksepticeye. Who gets the blade? Whoever you choose will be rewarded.” The man finished, waiting for them to respond. When neither replied, the man decided to add, “You have 60 seconds to decide.” 

“Me! Me. Just do it.” Dan blurted out. Felix turned to him, looking shocked. He stood up quickly.

“No, me! Leave him....” He started to fall back to the ground, grabbing onto Dan for support.

“No, dude, you can't even stand. Just let me. I'm the only one here not hurt.” He pleaded. Felix couldn't even look at Dan as he slid back onto the floor, grabbing his head.

“It has to be unanimous.” The man said, watching the interaction. Felix and Dan locked eyes. They had a mini staring contest, but Felix looked away first. He slowly nodded his head, looking at the floor. The man looked pleased.

“Alright. Arm please!” He said, holding his hand out. Dan slowly lifted his right arm, setting it in the man's grasp. Something about how polite the man was being was super unsettling. If this is him happy, Dan did not want to make him mad. He looked at Jack, and winced. 

“Let the fun begin! How many do you want. How about for every cut, I'll bring you a sandwich. Doesn't that sound nice? You can share them with your friends.” He said with a smile. He sounded so cheerful, like they were all just hanging out. Dan looked at the man for a long time before he asked a few questions of his own.

“How long until we get more food?”

“Who knows?” He replied, his smile growing wider.

“How deep are you going to cut?”

“Not very deep, but deep enough.” He wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him. He thought about his answer carefully before responding.

“9.” Dan sounded confident in his answer, planting his feet as the man smiled and brought the blade down to his wrist. 

He winced as the first slice on his arm was made. He looked up to see the blood pouring out of his wrist. It was a lot, and that was only the first one. The man brought down the blade again, slicing 3 times in succession. Dan muffled a scream as the last two went much deeper than the first two. The man brought down the knife again, this time sliding it much slower, as if he was trying to savor the moment. The pain was too much as Dan’s legs started to get wobbly. He dropped to his knees next to Felix, who had his head in his knees, not wanting to look at what was taking place in front of him.

Dan took deep breaths, his arm now outstretched into the air at a weird angle, still firmly in the man's grasp. His arm was trembling, but he tried to hold still as the knife came down again. Hot blood started to follow his arm down to his torso, his whole arm covered at this point. It tickled as it went up his armpit.

“Time out!” Dan said. The man, surprisingly, let go of Dan's arm. He pulled it into his chest as he rested his head on the floor. He was breathing like he just got out of a birthing class. Shallow, fast breaths. In, in, out, out. He shot up without warning, making the man take a step back in shock. He put his arm out again. The man's smile grew even more. They were already so well trained. 

He grabbed his arm, quickly slicing 3 more times before looking down at his work. This time, Danny screamed. The last slice was on the inside of his elbow, deeper than the others. All Dan could see was blood as his eyes started to water. The man let go of his wrist, and started to walk out immediately, grabbing Dan's old chair on the way out before the door slammed behind him.

Dan's whole body was shaking as he slumped to the ground. He lifted his arm, ready to insect the damage. It didn't look good. Why did he have to say 9? This was not too deep? This was starting off easy? His mind raced as the reality of the situation finally started to sink in. He had been kidnapped! He was going to die here, and never see his friends of family ever again. How long had he been gone? Did anyone even know he was missing yet? 

His breathing method was no longer working as he struggled to get air into his lungs. The room was getting smaller. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't…

Dan felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to look at Felix. All he could see in his eyes was compassion, as the younger man started to rub small circles into his back. Dan found it incredibly calming as his breathing started to return to normal. They sat there in silence for what felt like hours, watching blood drip to the floor from Dan's fingertips. 

The door started to open again, and Dan returned to his feet. Something about being on the floor when the man came in felt degrading. The man walked in, holding his knife, a plate of pb&j sandwiches and a first aid kit. He walked up to the pair, setting the sandwiches on the floor in front of Dan. He then handed the kit to Felix.

“You need to fix up your friend before he bleeds out.” He gestured to Dan's arm, still soaked with blood. He turned to leave, but stopped when he looked at Jack. “You should probably fix him up too.” The man reached over and cut the restraints off their unconscious friend. He lifted Jack as if he weighed nothing, setting him down gently on the other side of Felix, securing him to the wall. “I hope your friend wakes up. I really want to play with him too.” The man smiled at them as he left the room once more, taking the final chair with him. As he shut the door, the room was once again plunged into darkness. 

Felix wasted no time, grabbing the first aid kit and looking over the contents. It was less of a first aid kit, and more of a military med kit, maily filled with things for large, life threatening wounds. He grabbed the peroxide and some gauze, turning to Danny. They locked eyes and Felix gave him the weakest smile Dan had ever seen.

“I'm not going to like this, am I?” Dan asked as he outstretched his arm. Felix didn't respond as he opened the bottle and hovered over Dan's arm. “WAIT!” Dan yelled as he pulled his arm back. Felix gave him a weird look as Dan went through the first aid kit, grabbing a roll of ace bandage wrap. 

“I have a feeling this is going to hurt worse than it did when he was cutting me.” He said, putting the ace bandage in his mouth, biting down on it. He lifted his arm once again. Felix grabbed it, putting Dans arm in between his knees so he wouldn't move. He held the bottle above his arm and looked at him for confirmation. Dan nodded.

Felix poured the peroxide quickly, covering the whole arm, trying not to lose his grip as Dans arm automatically tried to pull away. It's a good thing he was biting on something, because the bloodcurdling scream that came out of his mouth was loud enough with something blocking the noise. Felix grabbed a cloth, gently dabbing Dans arm. He worked quickly, grabbing the gauze and wrapping his arm up. Dan held up his arm, admiring Felixs work. 

“Hey, that looks pretty good. Thanks man.” He said, feeling genuinely appreciative.

“What are friends for?” 

“So were friends now? We literally just met.” Dan said, trying to get his breathing under control.

“Well I have a feeling we're gonna become best friends when we get outta here. You know, shared trauma and whatnot.” He meant it as a joke, but neither of them were laughing. They sat there in silence, each thinking about what the chances are that they would make it out. Felix broke the tension by grabbing the peroxide and going to work on the cut on his head. 

When he finished he tapped Dan on the shoulder and gestured towards Jack. He had almost forgotten Jack was here. How long had they been here? How long has he been unconscious? 

“What are we going to do about him?” Felix asked as he pulled Jacks head off the concrete and onto his lap. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through Jacks hair, as if to calm him.

“Well, let's clean that cut up first.” Dan replied, grabbing the peroxide. Felix placed Jacks head on the floor in front of him, and swung a leg over Jack, now sitting on his chest. He placed his hands on Jacks shoulders, holding him on the ground. He looked at the cut on Jacks face again. It was an inch deep and about 5 inches long right under his eye.

“If this doesn't wake him up, I don't know what will.” Dan said as he put a cloth over Jacks eye, to avoid it getting in. He took a deep breath and started to pour.


	3. Impromptu surgery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack needs stitches

Jack woke up to searing pain on his face. He tried to sit up but found he was being held down by someone sitting on him. He could hear someone screaming as he tried to get away from his attacker. Was that him? He had no luck, as another pair of hands pushed his shoulders into the ground. He tried to open his eyes. One was being covered by something, and the other wasn't of much help. All he could see was the basic outline of two people hovering over him. He tried to kick his legs but it did nothing. 

Whatever was on his eye was removed. He opened his eyes, immediately becoming more confused and afraid. Two of his best friends in the world were on top of him, holding him down as they did something to his face. He started thrashing around even harder, confusion and fear controlling his actions. He managed to get an arm free, and started swinging at his friend, Felix. Dan was faster, quickly grabbing his wrist and pinning him to the ground again.

“Jack calm down, we're trying to help you. That looks pretty bad. He's going to need stitches.” Felix said, trying to calm Jack down. Dan tried to grab Jacks face, and he went right back into a frenzy.

“Jack, you need to stop moving. I'm going to need to stitch this up, or were going to have even bigger problems.” Dan said as he searched with his free hand, finding a needle and some fishing line in the medkit. Jack didn't like that, thrashing around even more violently.

“He’s not calming down! What do we do?” Felix asked the older man.

“Umm.. Slide up. Lock his head in place. We need to get this done” he said as he readied the makeshift medical supplies. Felix did as he was told, sliding up so he was sitting on Jacks chest, putting his knees around his head, pinning his arms down under his legs. In any other situation he would have made a joke about his crotch being so close to Jacks face, but he remained silent, putting one hand on Jacks forehead, the other on his jaw.

Jack was still trying to escape, but couldn't move his head at all, and that's all they needed. Dan reached down, forcing the ace bandage into Jacks mouth as Felix held his mouth open. Jack was freaking out. He didn't know where he was, he had no memory of what happened, all he knew was that his friends were trying to hurt him. Why would Dan and Felix try to hurt him? They didn't even know each other. His thoughts were interrupted by more of his screams, as Dan started to push the needle into Jacks face. The edges of his vision started to turn black as the pain fired through his body. The last thing he saw was Dan pulling the needle out of his face before attacking him again.

Jack passed out almost immediately. It was probably for the best, as it made finishing the stitching way easier. Felix continued to hold him down, in case he woke up again, tears running down his face from hearing the horrible screams of his friend. 

They finished the stitch and decided to pour more peroxide on the wound, Jack didn't wake up this time. They got up silently and put the supplies away, neither saying a word to the other as Dan put the first aid kit in the corner and Felix sat Jack up against the wall. They sat in silence for hours, only saying something when they decided to each eat a sandwich. 

Trying to lay down to sleep was complicated, as each shackle only has about 2 feet of slack. They decided to lay with their heads towards the door. The room was big enough that they could lay like that without being in danger of the door hitting them if it opened. Normally none of them would be able to fall asleep on the cold, hard concrete, but they were so exhausted, it only took about 5 min.


	4. Phonecall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How badly do you want a phone call?

All 3 boys woke up to the metal door clanging open, letting light into the room for the first time in hours. They sat up, backing away from the door. Jack backed into the corner of the room, trying to put as much space between him and the other prisoners as possible. The man didn't come into the room, but 3 water bottles were tossed into the room, followed by 3 cans before the door slammed shut again. Felix and Dan dove for the bottles, ripping the caps off and chugging the water like they hadn't drunk in days. Maybe they hadn't. Jack hadn't moved a muscle. Felix stopped drinking and looked over at Jack. He looked terrified.

“Hey buddy. Need some water?” He asked as he tried to hand the bottle to him. Jack wouldn't move closer, instead sinking deeper into the corner. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“You already did.” Jack responded quietly. He was trying to pull his leg closer to his body, not noticing it was chained to a wall.

“We were helping you Jack. You needed your face stitched up.” Dan told him in a soothing voice. “You wouldn't let us, but it had to be done.” Jack lifted his hand to his cheek. It was poorly stitched up. They had been helping him.

“Why didn't you just take me to the hospital?” The Irishman asked. Dan and Felix exchanged a look before turning back to Jack. 

“Are… are you serious?” Asked Felix. “Look around you dude.” Jack decided to look around the room for the first time. He was in a basement. He stood up to walk to the door, only to be stopped after 2 steps. He was trapped. He followed the chain around his ankle back to the wall and saw the other two chains. They were all trapped.

“What happened? Where are we?” Jack asked the other two as he walked back to his spot on the wall and sat down. 

“We have no idea. Do you remember anything?” Jack tried to think back, but the last thing he remembers was being at Marks house.

“I was filming a video at Marks house and… that's all I remember.” He said put his hands to his head, wincing as he came into contact with his now yellow bruise above his eyebrow. “Why am I all messed up?” He asked, gesturing to his head.

“He said you fought back when he tried to take you. It was pretty badass, you messed up his arm pretty bad.” Felix said with a look of pride on his face. Jack couldn't believe that he could do that to another person, but he had never been in a life or death situation, so maybe it was true. 

Jacks stomach made an audible gurgling noise, leading Dan to grab him a sandwich from the other corner of the room. Jack practically inhaled the sandwich, washing it down with the rest of his water.

“Where did you get these sandwiches?” He asked, mouth still full of peanut butter. Dan lifted his arm up and pointed at the gauze. Jacks jaw dropped when he saw the older mans arm. “Oh my god, what?”

“You have to earn your food. He gives us a choice, and then rewards us. 9 sandwiches, 9 cuts.” Jack nodded his head, starting to understand.

“What does he want? Why did he take us?” The pair just responded with shrugs. Jack had more questions, but his eyes wandered to the cans that were thrown in with the water. He reached forward and grabbed one. Four loko. It was alcohol. 3 of them. One four loko can get you drunk too. Without even thinking about it, he cracked it open and chugged the whole can. He set it on the floor, looking back at the other two boys, both with strange looks on their faces.

“Did you just drink the whole thing?” Dan asked from his corner of the room. 

“Yeah i got a wicked headache. I think I'm concussed.” He replied. “I wish there were more.”

“You can have mine, I don't drink.” Dan said as he slid his can to Jack. Jack cracked it open, taking a gulp and setting it down next to him. A thought occurred to him. 

“What's his name?” As he asked the question, the door started to slide open.

“What's my name? Finally someone who cares.” The man said as he entered the room. “My name’s Alex, thanks for asking. And look who's finally awake! Nice to join us Jacksepticeye. You've been missing all the fun. I've got a great reward for you today, you're really going to love it. The two of you who take the punishment, get to call one of your friends! You should have seen his video he posted yesterday. That Markiplier is really freaking out. It's hilarious. So who wants to play?” Felix and Jack immediately stood up. They were closer to Mark than Dan was, and Dan was in no condition to be taking more abuse right now. They didn't know what was going to happen, but anything would be worth a phone call.

“Why two of us?” Felix questioned as he met Alexs eyes. He just laughed as he pulled his trusty knife out from behind him. He flipped it over in his hand, holding the knife out to the group. 

“Stab your friend. And it better be good and hard too. The harder the stab, the longer you get to talk to Mark.” A smile spread across his face as Felix grabbed the knife out of his hand. He thought about using it on Alex, quickly remembering that they were all still chained to a wall. They wouldn't be found, and probably starve to death. He took a deep breath before he flipped it over, pushing it handle first into Jacks hands. 

Felix looked down at Dan as he tried to find something to brace himself with. He took the hint and stood up, looking at Felix for further instruction.

“Just hold me against the wall.” He said as he put his back to the concrete. Dan stood in front of him, a hand on each shoulder, trying not to reinjure his arm as he did so. They both turned to Jack who stood there looking like he was going to throw up.

“I… I can't stab you… I…” Felix locked eyes with his irish friend, confidence and sympathy written on his face.

“Hey, Jack, it's okay. It's okay, I won't be mad. Just do it, and we get to talk to Mark.” He replied with a smile. Jack slowly nodded, wiping tears out of his eyes as he took deep breaths.

Once he had composed himself, he looked at Felix, who gestured to his bicep. He took a few more deep breaths as he put his left arm on his bicep, pulling back the knife in this right. 

“Remember, the bigger the cut, the longer the phone call.” Alex said with a huge grin on his face. Jack tensed up. He didn't want to hurt his friend. How hard should he go? He was snapped out of his trance when Felix spoke up.

“Just go full power Sean. I can take it. This might be our only phone call.” He said, tensing up against jacks grip. Jack took his final deep breath before locking eyes with him. Felix nodded at him.

Felix closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else. An image of his wife floated into his mind, he could hear her laughter. He thought about playing games with his friends. He thought about anything but his arm.

Jack brought the blade down fast and hard, piercing through Felixs bicep. It embedded itself about 2 inches into the sweds arm, slicing through the muscle. He pulled it out as fast as he put it in, making sure to pull down as it exited, trying to make the wound look worse than his initial cut.

Everyone was surprised at how quiet the room was. Felix hadn't screamed. He just stood there, focusing on the pressure Dan was putting on his shoulders. He was shaking hard, taking rugged breaths. They all stood silently watching Felix as blood poured out of his arm. He started to slide down, as his legs gave out. Dan caught him and slowly lowered him to the ground. 

Alex smiled wide. “That was so good! I'm proud of you guys. I'll give you 3 minutes. That sounds fair.” He pulled a flip phone out of his pocket and threw it at Felix. “It's not traceable so don't even try.” He added as he bent down and pulled out a key, releasing Dan from the wall. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to the door.

“Where are you taking him?” Jack didn't like him taking Dan. Alex turned around and smiled as he shoved Dan out the door.

“I said two of you can talk to Mark. Don't worry. We won't have too much fun without you.” With that he slammed the door again, darkness swallowing the room.

Felix pulled out the phone. He didn't know Marks number. He didn't know anyones number. He clicked on the contacts. There it was in bold letters. Markiplier. How did he get Marks number? It didn't matter. He quickly clicked the call button, and it started to ring.

As Felix called Mark, Jack leaned over Felix, stretching to grab the medkit. He grabbed a hold and sat up. He quickly scanned through the contents and looked back at Felixs arm. He needed stitches. He needed more than stitches actually, but that would be the best they could do. Jack quickly realized he wouldn't be able to do it. He didn't know how to do that. It would have to wait till Dan got back. He grabbed the peroxide, waving it in front of Felix, who just nodded in agreement. He starred pouring as Mark answered the phone. 

“Hello?” Marks voice warmed the boys hearts. Felix tried to respond, but a sob of pain came out instead. Jack grabbed the phone from his hand, holding the phone between his head and his shoulder as he went to work, wrapping Felixs arm. “Felix? Is that you?”

“Yeah he's here.” Jack responded. “We only have 2 minutes left.” Marks heart soared when he heard Jack speak. They were both there.

“Where have you guys been? I've been so worried about you! We reported you missing and everything! Wait, is Dan with you guys?” His voice shook when he mentioned Dan.

“Yeah, he's here.” Mark released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. They were alive. All of them.

“What happened? It's been a week since you vanished. Where are you?” A week? How could they have been missing that long. It had only been like two days. They must have been unconscious for a long time. That can't be good for you.

“I dunno Mark.” Jack said as tears started to streak down his face. He finished with Felixs arm and had started to break down. This was all too much, his head started to spin. “I just wanna leave.” Feix gestured for Jack to give him back the phone.

“Mark it's me.” He said as he held it up to his ear. “We got kidnapped by a guy named Alex. He's about 160 kilograms… um 350 pounds, and like… 6’ 10”. Brown hair, brown eyes. He's a big guy.” Felix paused, trying to think of anything else he could say to Mark.

“Wait, slow down. You were kidnapped?” He asked in a mocking tone. He didn't believe them?

“Mark, listen to me. We have to be somewhere secluded because no one can hear our screams. And we've been pretty loud. I don't think he has an accomplice, looks like it's just the one guy. Alex. Remember it please. Call the police.” Felix was speeding up as he heard footsteps approaching the door. “Tell Marzia i love her.” The door opened and Alex walked through, grabbing the phone from Felix. They could hear Marks voice as the phone was closed, ending the call.

“How was that? Do you feel better?” He asked the pair. When neither responded he turned to leave.

“Wait. Where's Dan?” Felix yelled out. Alex didn't respond, and slammed the door behind him.


	5. Watching TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kinda short this time. Its about to pick up. Promise.

As Dan stepped out of his prison, light hit his eyes making him recoil. It'd been a while since he had seen sunlight. He squinted, trying to scan his surroundings. He was in a house, presumably the kidnappers house, but it was not what he expected. The building was pretty big, a four bedroom. There were youtuber posters lining every wall. Dan. Jack. Felix. Repeat. Probably 50 posters in the living room alone. He had little statues of each of them on every surface, a cardboard cutout of Felix in the corner and a septiceye pillow on the couch.

This was officially too creepy. Dan tensed up as Alex put his hands on his shoulders and started to give him a massage.

“There's a bathroom right through here, I stole some clothes from your house, so you can change into those when you're done with your shower.” He pushed Danny into the bathroom. Following from behind, he leaned on the door frame, blocking the exit. “I'm going to go get the phone from your friends. Take a shower, and make sure you wash that arm. We're in the middle of nowhere, so you can try to run if you want, but I would be pretty mad if you did. 30 minutes sound fine? ” Dan nodded his head quickly. He really needed a shower, he was covered in sweat and blood, most of which wasn't his. Alex nodded and left the room, leaving the door wide open. 

Dan thought about running, obviously, but he didn't. He was too scared to run, and he knew he wouldn't get very far. He thought about closing the door too, but he doesn't think that's a good idea. If Alex wanted it shut, he would have shut it. He thought about a lot of things, but the only thing he did was take a shower.

When he got out of the shower, he could hear the TV on in the living room. Dan quickly got dressed and peaked around the corner to see Alex sitting on the couch. He was watching Game Grumps. He could hear Arin begging to trade monopoly properties. Alex saw him and paused the video. 

“Hey, do you feel better now?” He asked, nothing but kindness in his eyes. How did he do that? How could this man be his kidnapper? It didn't make any sense. Dan just nodded at Alex, who smiled in return. “Wanna watch Game Grumps with me?”

“Um…” He wanted to return to his friends, but that cement floor was wreaking havoc on his knees. “Yeah, sure.” He awkwardly walked over to the couch, sitting as far away from Alex as possible. Alex hit play and leaned back in his seat. 

This guy was clearly obsessed with them. Maybe he could win his trust or something? How do you even do that? Dan decided to just try to be nice to Alex, there was clearly something wrong with him. He seemed like a good person, maybe he just went crazy. He started to feel bad for Alex as he watched him laugh at his and Arins jokes. Dan started to relax on the couch. He felt safer when he wasn't in the basement.

They just sat there and watched game grumps for what felt like 2 hours. Dans legs were starting to feel better when he was escorted back into the basement. The door opened to Felix and Jack, they both had an immediate look of relief on their faces when they saw Dan. Alex chained Dan up and left, leaving them in darkness once again. Dan couldn't see anything while his eyes tried to get used to the lack of light.

“Where were you? It's been hours!” Jack questioned. He looked more concerned than Dan had ever seen him. 

“He wanted to watch Game Grumps with me. I didn't think saying no was the best idea.” He replied honestly. As he said it, he realized that Felix had his eyes closed. He reached forward and pushed him. Felix offered no resistance and fell onto Jack.

“Yeah, he's passed out like 4 times now. I don't know how to stitch his arm up, so we had to wait for you. How do you know how to do that?” Dan grabbed the medkit and started getting the needle ready again. It still had some of Jack's blood on it. He hoped this would be the last time he needed to use this.

“Well i know how to sew. It's just sewing but someone's skin.” He replied nonchalantly. As he started stitching up Felix, he realized he was becoming numb to this. He shouldn't be doing this, Felix should be at the hospital. They should all be at the hospital.

Felix didn't wake up while Dan did surgery on his arm. He didn't wake up at all. They waited for hours, but he wouldn't wake up.


	6. Replacement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda sucks, didn't know how to transition into the next part, so here ya go.

Dan was the first to wake up the next day. He looked around the room and saw one thing by each of their heads, as if it was for them.

In front of Jack there was a full bottle of Jack Daniels. Felix had a pack of cigarettes in front of him, with a lighter in between him and Dan. In front of Dan sat a brand new bowl, packed to the brim with Marijuana. Dan knew why, he used to be a pothead, everyone knows. Why did Felix have cigarettes? Dan didn't know he smoked, weird. He wasn't going to smoke the weed though. He wasn't until his arm started throbbing. He had the pipe in his mouth before he realized it. Sure he quit smoking, but not for any other reason than that he didn't feel like smoking anymore. But now he definitely felt like smoking. Tourture will do that to you.

Dan was decently high when Jack woke up. He offered him some weed, but Jack declined, opening the Jack Daniels and chugging half the bottle. I guess this will be the second night in row that Jack gets plastered. Dan couldn't blame him. They sat in silence for over an hour before Jack spoke.

“Felix don't smoke.” He slurred at Dan. Dan didn't respond, going back to his weed. Jack went back to drinking, even though he was already unable to stand. He drank until he passed out, which only took 2 and a half hours. So Dan sat alone in the dark with nothing but the drugs in his system and the pain in his arm, trying not to imagine what will happen when Alex comes back.

But he didn't come back. It had been hours or days, Dan didn't know, but it was way too long. Alex didn't come back, and Felix didn't wake up. 

Jack woke up twice, so Dan guessed it had been 2 days, but he couldn't sleep. His arm hurt, his head hurt, he would get dizzy when he layed down. He just sat there for days, only moving to check Felixs pulse. There was still one sandwich left though.

Jack didn't know how long it had been. He woke up and drank till he passed out, repeat. He didn't want to be here anymore, and the alcohol took him away. He was worried for Dan though. He looked like he had cracked. He would just stare into space, moving for nothing. Jack didn't know why Felix wouldn't wake up, his arm didn’t bleed as much as Dan's arm. He didn't know, and he had officially lost the ability to care. He just drank. Until the alcohol was gone.

It was 5 days before Jack finished off the alcohol. The weed was already gone, along with the sandwiches. The only thing left in the room other than the trash, was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. They sat in silence for 2 more days before Jack finally spoke, his voice raw from lack of use.

“How is he not dead right now?” He gestured to Felixs unmoving body. It had been a week and he was still unconscious. Dan reached over and checked for a pulse again. He was still alive. This was super strange. He was about to respond when the door opened.

Alex walked in, looking pissed. He walked up to Felix and kicked him hard in the head. He offered no reaction. Alex grumbled to himself as he unhooked Felix from the wall and picked him up.

“Looks like he's done, and we didn't even get to the fun stuff. Shame really. It's a good thing I already dug your graves last week, I didn't want to do that today.” Alex looked at the other two for a reaction, but got none. Both men had their heads down, avoiding looking at Alex. He frowned and shook his head. 

“Already broke you? Way to take the fun out of it. It's okay, I got you guys a present I think you will really love. Wait here while I throw him outside.” With that he hoisted Felixs body over his shoulder and left the room, leaving the door open for the first time. The boys were grateful to not be sitting in the dark any longer. They could hear the sound of Felixs body hitting the dirt. He really did just throw him outside. Alex walked back, going past the basement towards his other bedrooms. 

They could hear him coming back, approaching the door. Why did it sound like two sets of footsteps?

“Get in there with your friends, motherfucker!” Alex hissed as he finally came into view. He had his hands on the shoulders of someone in front of him. Dan and Jack quickly looked to the ground. If they didn't look at Alex, that ment it wasn't real, right? Alex reached down and hooked their new cellmate to Felixs old spot in the middle. 

“You'll never get away with this! People have been looking for you for weeks, they know who you are!” The man in the middle yelled at Alex. Dan could feel a tear slide down his cheek when he recognized the voice. “We will make it out of here. All 4 of us!” He could hear Alexs deep laughter filling the room.

“Oh yeah? Well you obviously haven't heard that Felix is dead. And look at your other friends. I broke them completely. They fought back at first, nothing some isolation and temptation won't fix. You can't tell them to run, because they won't. Even if they did, when's the last time they ate? A week ago? Jack hasn't had anything in his system but alcohol, you really think he can get away from me? Here, watch. Danny, stand up.” Dan did as he was told. He didn't like being treated like this, but he lost the ability to care. Sometime in the last 2 weeks, he had become horribly depressed. He knew it was probably normal for his circumstances, and wondered if that was why so few people escaped situations like this. 

“Dan, i'm sure you're hungry, right?” Dan nodded, his eyes never leaving the floor. His stomach felt like it was eating itself, the last sandwich having disappeared 6 days ago. “Danny, it's rude not to look someone in their eyes.” Alex said, shaking a finger at Dan. He mustered up all the courage he had and looked up at him. He felt like he had been punched in the gut when his eyes confirmed the identity of their new cellmate. The face matched the voice perfectly, MatPat.


	7. Trauma

“You’re hungry, huh buddy?” Alex asked in a hushed voice, putting a hand on Dans shoulder. He almost flinched. Almost. “I know I left you for a long time, but I needed to get the cops off my trail, and grab your new present here.” He gestured to Mat. Dan locked eyes with him, and Mat looked terrified. He looked scared, on the verge of tears, just like he was when he first got here. Other than looking like he was going to throw up, Mat seemed unharmed. He was sure the way Jack looked was scaring him, as he kept glancing at the Irishman. At least Dan was allowed to take a shower, Jack was still sitting in the corner, covered in his and Felixs blood.

“ So, if you want food, you know how to get it.” Alex said, pulling the knife out of his waistband, and handing it to Dan. “Do the other arm this time. I've got some McDonald's in the kitchen. I can bring you and your friend some mcchickens. You need the protein.” Dan looked at the knife in his hand. He knew he should try to kill Alex, but he barely had the energy to lift the blade. Some chicken would be nice. Normally Dan hated McDonald's, but it sounded so delicious that his mouth started to water as he lifted the blade to his clean arm.

“Dan? What are you doing? Stop!” Mat yelled at Dan as the blade sliced his clean arm open. Dan didn't even hear him as he brought the blade down again, going deeper than before. The only thing Dan had felt in weeks was fear and pain, and he didn't like fear. The pain was okay though. He actually kinda liked it. With each slice he drew on his wrist, he felt the need to draw more. It was better than feeling nothing. He brought the blade down for his 8th line when he paused after he saw the look on Mats face. He was completely horrified, starting at Dan like he had lost his mind. He paused long enough for Alex to assume that meant he was done.

“Good job Danny. You earned yourself 7 sandwiches!” Alex finally looked around the room at the empty cans and unsmoked cigarettes. “Did you want some more? I can get you more?” Jacks head shot up, looking at Alex with pleading eyes. “Okay, i'll be back in an hour with more stuff for you guys. Be good.” He winked at Mat before exiting the room.

Dan returned to his spot on the ground, looking down at the knife Alex had left in his possession. Maybe he should do more lines on his arm. Would Alex bring them even more food? Dan realized he didn't care about the food as he slid the knife on his wrist, not pushing enough to draw blood this time. He could hear Jack sliding the medkit across the ground to Dan. He slowly turned back around, facing the corner, with his knees in his chest. 

Mat didn't know what to do. Dan, Felix and Jack had been missing for almost 2 weeks. The internet had gone crazy, his friends had gone crazy. But no one gave up hope. Felix had called Mark, proving they were alive. People were looking for them all across the world, and here they were, right in front of him. Dan's stare was vacant, not looking at anything, only through. His arm was gushing blood and he didn't seem bothered by it at all. Jack didn't seem to care about Dan either, which is not like him at all. Jack hadn't even acknowledged his presence. He just sat in the corner, shaking. It wasn't that cold in here, was it? Then there was Felix. He hadn't seen him, but the man who brought him here at gunpoint had said he was dead. Had they watched him die?

“Jack?” He asked, slowly crouching down to his level. They had been here for a long time, he didn't want to scare him. It didn't work though, as Jack flinched, trying to bury himself in the corner, shaking even harder. “ Sean…” he put his hand on the boys shoulder. Jacks recoiled in fear at being touched. Last time someone touched his shoulder… he didn't want a repeat of that. He had fear in his eyes and tears running down his face. Mat quickly removed his hand when he saw the gash that took up half of Jacks face, running from just below his nose to the corner of his eye. It looked like it had been stitched, poorly. The area around it was red and puffy, the wound itself looking infected. Jack wasn't going to be of any help to him in this state.

Mat stood up to reassess the situation. Both the boys look malnourished, which aligns with what the man had told him. Jack was covered head to toe in sweat and dried blood, mostly on his arms and face. Other than that, the only thing about him he noticed was the smell. He smelled bad, but he expected that, what hit him was the alcohol. He reeked of it, and the cans littering the ground agreed, he had been drinking quite a bit.

Dan, on the other hand, didn't smell like alcohol, nor did he have much blood on him. He still looked terrible, but not nearly as bad as Jack. It didn't make sense though, seeing as how Dan was the one covered in future scars. His arms were riddled with slices all up his arms. One arm was starting to scab over, the other was still bleeding as Dan made no attempt to stop the bleeding. His heart broke as he thought of all the assumptions people would make of him in the future. Jack too, with what will be a wicked scar running across his face. And Felix was dead! He was dead and these two just sat here, waiting their turn.

He tried to think back on all the information he's read on trauma. Jack was easy, substance abuse. Pure and simple. He'd rather drink and forget this is all going on. Dan was a little harder, dissociation maybe? Well this wasn't that bad. They were both alive, they hadn't seemed to go too crazy, and they weren't wounded too severely. The police said they were hot on the kidnappers trail, Mat would only have to wait a day or two before they got rescued, and the kidnapper didn't seem to be in any hurry to murder anyone. Another word crossed his mind as he sat down, facing the two boys. Rationalization. Distorting the facts to make a situation seem less threatening to you. Mat wasn't doing that, was he?


	8. Not dead

Felix woke up in a pile of mud, in the rain. His whole body ached as he tried to stand up. His heart leapt when he realized he wasn't chained to a wall. It was the middle of the night, he was standing outside a light blue country house situated in the middle of nowhere. He started to move towards the front door when he heard someone screaming from inside.

“Dan? What are you doing? Stop!” Felix didn't immediately recognize the voice. All he could hear was the fear. It was enough to send him running into the woods.


	9. Whipped

It was about an hour before Alex strolled back into the room, his arms full as he dropped everything onto the cement floor. Dan hid the knife under his leg.

“I brought a little something for everyone. Sean, I brought you another bottle of Jack, I know how much you like it.” He set the bottle in front of him along with a Mcchicken. “Dan, I noticed you ran out of weed so I brought some more. And Mat… I've decided to let you go!” He declared with a smile on his face. Alex unhooked Mat from the wall and pulled him up by his arm. “I only need one thing from you, and I'll let you go home.” Mat looked like he was about to protest but stopped when he thought about his son at home.

“What do you need me to do?” He asked. Alex smiled as he led Mat out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Alex forced Mat out the front door of the house, still holding onto his shirt. He led him down the steps, and headed straight for a big oak tree in the yard. Letting go of Mat, he shoved him at the tree and started to pull a rope out of his pocket. “I bought a new toy! Take off your shirt.” 

Mat hesitated, looking for somewhere to run. All he saw was forest on all sides for miles. He was stuck. Mat slowly removed his shirt as Alex walked up to him with the rope. He tied one end around his wrist, and wrapped it around the tree, tying the other end on his other wrist. He grabbed his shoulders and forced him onto his knees. Mat was practically hugging the tree, and he knew what was coming next.

“It seems that pewdiepie wasn't actually dead. Well either that or he was dragged off by a bear.” Alex said as he pulled his brand new whip out of his belt. “It's whatever, not like he'll get very far.” He paused again, making Mats heart thump loudly in his ears. “So listen, I'm going to do this no matter what, but let's make it into a game. When you go 3 times in a row without screaming, I'll let you follow your Swedish friend into the woods. Just don't scream because I'll have to start over, okay?”

Mat mulled it over in his head, it honestly didn't sound that bad. He wasn't sure how he would manage to get out of the woods with open wounds on his back, but he had to get out of here. If he got out he could save the others by giving the police the location. Mat just knew he couldn't stay here any longer without ending up like Jack and Dan. “Okay.”

Without a moments hesitation, the whip was brought down hard on Mats back, cracking loudly. The pain was too much as Mat screamed louder than he ever has, his whole body feeling like it was set on fire. He felt as his skin was ripped open, and blood started to pour out onto his back.

“Wow, not even one? This is going to take a long time if you keep that up. More fun for me I guess.” Alex taunted as he brought down the whip again.

~~

Dan and Jack sat in silence, both used to it at this point. Dan had started to smoke the weed that Alex had so graciously gotten him when he noticed that Jack had drunk the whole bottle he was given without touching his sandwich. He was worried about him. Jack had to be hungry, they hadn't gotten food in a little over a week, plus with all the drinking he had been doing, he had to be starving. 

Jack was starting to get more worried about Dan. He hadn't spoken in a very long time, and the way he kept looking at that knife was creepy. Dan didn't think he was looking when he drug the knife slowly over his arm, adding a new cut to his collection. He looked like doing it made him calm down a bit, Jack couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

“Dan,” Jack said, speaking for the first time since Mat left. “Are you trying to kill yourself?” He asked it so quietly, no one should have heard him, but he knew Dan did. He wasn't expecting a response, but he got one pretty quickly.

“Are you?” The question took Jack by surprise. He looked down at the empty bottle in his hands, and his unopened sandwich. The alcohol was kicking in, his vision starting to go fuzzy around the edges as he finally responded.

“I don't know.”


	10. Heroin

Felix felt like he had traveled over 50 miles, and he still saw nothing but dense woods in every direction. The sun had set twice since he ran from the country house, and he was sure he was going to die in these woods. His muscles ached and his head spun, but he kept on marching forward, determined to find his way out of this maze of trees. Luckily, Felix was able to avoid any wild animals on his journey. He had accidentally ripped his stitches out when he slipped down a hill on the first day. The bleeding had stopped, but it was definitely infected. He was about to give up, and let the forest take him out of pure exhaustion from the last 2 weeks. That is, until he wandered upon a highway. 

~~

Dan shot awake when he heard the door creaking. Light poured into the dusty basement room as Alex swung the door open. He had a spring in his step as he bounced over to Jack, who was still asleep. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to the shackle around his ankle, and unchained him from the wall, setting the keys on the ground. He grabbed him by the armpits and forced Jack onto his feet, who was only just starting to open his eyes.

“Wakey wakey. I’ve got a fun surprise for you! Come one!” Alex pulled him to the door, Jack stumbling the whole way. He slammed the door shut, plunging Dan into darkness again.

It was Jacks first time being out of the basement, he didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. The photos of him, Felix and Danny covered every section of the wall. This guy was clearly insane, though he already knew that. He approached a bathroom and Alex pushed him in, gesturing to the shower. Before he could respond, Alex had already walked away. 

Not seeing another option, and just being sick of being so dirty, Jack decided to just take the shower. There was no soap, so he just used the water to wash all the dried blood off his body. Without soap, the shower was quick. He stepped out of the shower to find a change of clothes waiting for him on the toilet. He changed quickly before walking out to the creepy living room.

Alex was looking through his phone on the couch. He looked up to see Jack and smiled. “Wow. You look so much better. Do you feel better? I got something that will make your day! Follow me.” He jumped off the couch and walked Jack over to one of the bedrooms. “So i've been thinking, sleeping on the floor like that must suck, so you can sleep in here from now on.”

The door opened to show a pretty empty room with a dresser, a bed and a lamp. It looked like a basic guest room that someone would have, with one difference. There was a camera in the corner, pointing at the bed. Jack started to feel uncomfortable that Alex could be watching him at any moment, but that quickly faded away as he sat on the bed. It was quite possibly the most comfortable thing he had ever sat on.

“Yeah, the room’s all yours, but I still don't feel comfortable leaving you here without restraints, so I think I found the perfect solution.” Alex quickly walked up to him, and pulled something out of his pocket. Jack didn't have time to react as Alex swung his arm forward, embedding a syringe in his arm, and pushing the contents into his bloodstream.

Jack tried to get away from him, but Alex held him firm to the bed. Jack felt helpless as he struggled underneath the larger man. He couldn't help but curse the fact that Alex was twice his size. Why couldn't his crazy kidnapper fan be 5’ 3”?

“Don't worry, this will just make you less likely to run. You'll be too high to even know where you are.” Alex chuckled at himself as Jack stopped struggling. His eyes weren't focusing on Alex anymore, they just looked forward as a smile slid its way onto his face. When Alex could feel his body relax, he let go of him and stood back up. As he was walking out of the room, he set 3 more syringes on the end table.

Alex walked back to his living room, looking for something to watch on tv. He was so proud of himself. He didn't actually kill Felix, he let Mat go, and now Jack has somewhere comfortable to sleep. The two free men didn't scare him, no one could find this place, it's not even on a map. The boys probably died in the woods anyway, as he hadn't seen anything in the news yet. It would take years to search these woods anyway. He's just going to let the other two lose in the woods in a couple days, and they can go back to their lives, and no one will find Alex. He was so lost in thought about how he would get away with his crimes that he almost didn't notice when his truck started up in the driveway.


	11. The keys

Dan noticed the keys on the floor immediately. Alex left them not 2 feet away from where Dan sat. It felt like a trick, but he didn't care. He quickly grabbed the keys and unshackled himself from the wall. He stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do now. He couldn't just run out, he had no idea where the other two were in the house. Dan decided to put his ear to the door and listen for footsteps.

He could hear Alex talking to Jack about something before the footsteps started to fade a bit. Dan knew the house wasn't that big so it was now or never. He had to run while he was distracted. If he could find help, the police could come save Jack. He didn't see much of a choice, so when he could barely hear the others, he slowly opened the door. He slipped through the door, silently shutting it behind him, and quickly walked out the front door. It wasn't a moment too soon as he heard Alex walk back into the living room as soon as the door shut behind him.

Dan assessed his surroundings. There were woods on all sides, and a dirt path that led up to the garage. He didn't want to walk on the path, Alex would easily find him if he did. The woods didn't look promising either, he wouldn't make it out in one piece. Just as he was deciding what to do, he noticed the garage door was opened. Parked inside was a black pickup truck. Dan looked in his hand and saw the keys. Alexs keys. He could take the truck, and Alex wouldn't be able to chase him down.

He rushed over to the truck, pulling the door open and hopping into the drivers side. The truck was old and rusted, Dan just prayed it would start. He turned the keys in the ignition and the truck roared to life immediately. Dan shifted into drive and the truck rolled forward. He was at the edge of the property when he looked in the rearview and saw Alex running after the truck. Dans adrenaline kicked in as he slammed on the gas, leaving Alex in his dust behind him.


	12. Hospital

Alex wasn't concerned about Dan. Yeah, if he got out on the road he could lead the cops back to the house. And if they have his truck, they would know that he was the one who kidnapped them. But that wouldn't happen because his gas tank was on E. He wouldn't make it 10 miles. Normally he would just let him go, but Dan can't see where the entrance to his driveway was, or they would definitely find him. He laughed to himself as he jogged up to his 4 wheeler that he kept behind his garage. He would have to be punished for this.

~~ 

Felix was sick of the questions. He had only been back in the real world for a couple of hours and he had already had to talk to about 10 different officers, all asking the same questions. The weirdest of which was about Mat. The police were confused when he told them that he hadn't seen him, almost as if they didn't believe him. He told them it was just the 3 of them, they pushed for more information but Felix didn't know anything else, and he was so tired. The doctors' questions were just as impossible to answer.

“You were unconscious for a week?! Because of the wound on your arm? That doesn't make any sense!” He didn't know what to tell them. It kept going on like this, him answering questions as honestly as possible, and them not believing him, until they all eventually gave up and left him in peace. 

The first thing he did was call Marzia. Felix had been feeling emotionless since he was kidnapped, but hearing her voice made him break down in tears. He was finally out of that hell. Marzia was crying more than he was though, and immediately booked a flight for California. Apparently they had been being held in northern California, only a couple hours from most of his friends. He wasn't sure what to do next, so he called everyone else. 

First he called Evelien, then he called Arin so he could get the number to call Ash. As the only one out, he felt obligated to talk to the two of them, let them know what was going on. All three of them said they were on their way to the hospital to see him.

He felt a sense of relief, just wanting to see some failure faces. But he didn't know Ash, and Evelien wouldn't be here for a like 8 hours, and by then Marzia would be there too. Sure, he had met Arin, but they really weren't that close. He felt tempted to call Mark or Bob or Wade or someone who could comfort him, but he didn't. He wanted to see them, but at the same time, he kind of wanted to be alone. He sat back on the hospital bed, taking his first moment to relax since he had been abducted. Sleep called to him, but he had one more phone call to make. He wasn't sure if he had been taken too, but he had to call Stephanie.


	13. Punishment

Alex was getting a little sick of this. He let one of them go, but the other two snuck off. It irritated him that he wasn't even good at kidnapping people. The whole ride back to his house, he kept getting more and more angry at himself. It shouldn't be this hard to keep track of them, maybe he just took to many people. He should have done this one at a time, it probably would have worked a lot better. At least he got Dan back. He made it further than he thought he would get, but it wasn't far enough.

Alex pulled the 4 wheeler up next to the big tree in his yard, and pushed Dan off the back. He fell face first on the ground, not able to brace himself with his hands and feet tied up. Just as Alex was thinking of what to do with him, he looked at the blood soaked ground around the tree. He probably whipped Mat around 20 times before he was able to shut his mouth. Alex had a lot of fun doing that, it was exhilarating. 

“So Dan, I’ll give you two options. I'll do to you what I did to MatPat, or you I'll do what I did to Jack.” He looked at Dan, who had a terrified look on his face. 

“Wh- what did you do to them?”

“Well it's no fun if I tell you. I will say that they are both still alive… probably.” Alex laughed at the thought of them both being dead already. 

“Will you let me go like you did to Mat if I pick that one?” Alex thought about it. It was getting too hard to keep track of them all. If he let Dan go, he would only have to deal with Jack. Jack was his favorite after all…

“Yeah, sure. If you choose to go that route, I'll let you run into the woods. You'll probably die, but that's up to you I guess.” Dan couldn't be here anymore. He would do anything to just go home, even if it ended up killing him. He needed to be out of that basement. 

“I'll do it. I'll take the one that Mat took. Just please let me go.” Dan started to cry as he spoke. He was overdue for a mental breakdown, but he sucked it back. He could freak out when he gets back to his friends and family, right now he needs to focus on surviving whatever hell Mat had already been put through. 

Alex walked up to Dan, untied his legs, and pulled him to the tree. He forced him into the same position Mat was in only 2 days ago, with his arms around the tree. Dan saw the blood on the ground under him and had to try to control his breathing so as to not have a panic attack. ‘You'll be fine. It's okay. Just get it over with and I can leave.’ He said to himself. 

Alex went back in the house to grab his whip and check on Jack, who was now asleep in his new room. He locked the door, just in case, and jogged back to where Dan was kneeling on the ground. 

“So I whipped Mat 20 times, just to watch him run off in the wrong direction. I'll make you a deal, I'll whip you 15 times and you can run off wherever you want, or I'll do it 25 times, and point you in the right direction. What do you say?” Dans heart rate sped up as he realized what was about to happen. He didn't want to go the wrong way, but he didn't think he could handle getting whipped 15 times, let alone 25.

“15.”

“Are you sure? Wouldn't want to get lost out there.”

“I'm sure.”


	14. Woods

8 lashes. That's all it took before Dan had completely passed out. Alex immediately stopped hitting him. It was no fun if he wasn't awake. He would just have to wait for him to wake up before he gives him 7 more. He sighed, slowly walking back to the house, leaving Dans unconscious body tied to the tree. 

Alex was feeling a little pent up. He wanted to have some fun and hurt someone, but Dan and Jack were both unconscious. It would be funner if they were awake, but they didn't have to be. He walked to his kitchen and grabbed a knife off his knife block, slowly making his way to Jacks room.

~~

Mat felt like he was going crazy. He just walked and walked and walked and all he saw were more woods. It felt like he had been going in circles, he could have sworn he already walked by that tree 5 times. He wished he had shoes on, and a shirt. His body was covered head to toe in dirt and mud from sleeping on the cold hard ground, and walking through waist high murky water. He was 100% sure he was sick from the temperature dropping at night and his wet clothes. His wrist was definitely broken from tripping on a tree root, and he hadn't had any feeling in his back for the last two days. He had only passed out twice, both on the first day. Probably from blood loss, but he wasn't bleeding anymore, so he should be fine.

He would have been able to deal with all of that if he wouldn't have been alone. More than anything he wanted to see Olie and Stephanie. He wanted to go back to being woken up by his crying at 3 am, he would give anything to be there. For all he knows, the others were already rescued. He contemplated turning back, but that would be 2 days in the opposite direction, just to come face to face with his captor. So he just continued on into the unknown woods. At least there weren't any bears.


	15. More Heroin

The first thing Sean noticed when he woke up was the nausea. His stomach was doing flips, but he didn't have anything to throw up, so he wasn't too worried. The next thing he noticed was the smell of blood. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. Looking down at his body, he looked worse than Dan did. He was stripped down to his boxers, blood covering every part of his body. His arms, legs, torso, back, even his neck and face were covered in cuts. They weren't nearly as deep as the ones Dan had, but there were 10 times as many, Jack counted over 50 before he gave up counting.

He crawled off the bed and noticed there were 3 syringes and a full bottle of vodka on the end table. He just wanted water and something to make his stomach stop hurting. Jack was about to reach for the doorknob when it was yanked open, revealing Alex on the other side.

“Hey buddy, did you have a good nap?” The look in his eyes said that he actually cared, but Jack knew better.

“Yeah. Um… can I get some water?” Alex laughed and gestured to the bottle next to the bed.

“I got you some alcohol. Are you Irish or not?” He chuckled again as he grabbed one of the syringes off the table, taking it and injecting the liquid into his own arm. “Oh that's the stuff right there. Your turn.” He grabbed the next one as Jack took a step away from him. “Oh come on. Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't like it?”

Jack hesitated to answer. If he was going to be honest, it was the best he had ever felt in his life, but he didn't do drugs, he didn't want to do drugs.

“Well if you don't want to do this I could always find something else to do with you. I've been doing some reading about how to remove someones limbs without them dying, did you want to give it a try?”

Jack let out a sigh as he lifted his arm, exposing the veins on his inner elbow. He didn't want the drugs but he would be damned if he was going to get his arm cut off. When you put it that way, it was an easy choice.

“That's what I thought.” He put the needle in Jacks arm, pushing the mysterious liquid into his veins. The euphoria wasn't as intense this time, but it still felt amazing. Within seconds, he wasn't scared of Alex anymore. Why would he be? 

“So I'm going to leave these here.” Alex said as he pulled 4 more syringes out of his pocket, making 5 left on the table. “I'm going to be busy this week, so these are for you to inject yourself. I'll be back in 4 days, if these aren't all gone by the time I get back, we get to try out the limb thing. And remember,” He pointed up at the camera in the corner. “I'll know if you actually do it. And don't get any funny ideas about running. That window has bars on it and I'm deadbolt locking this door. When I get back, I'm going to let you go. But only if those are all gone.”

Jack was pretty sure he processed what he said. Take the drugs, and he can leave. But why would he want to leave? His bed was so soft and comfortable. Like a cat. Oh he loved cats, they were so cute. What was he thinking about?

“I'll see you later buddy, try not to get blood on everything.” With that he shut the door. He could hear the sound of 4 different locks being clicked into place on the other side.


	16. Hospital Arrival

Felix sat in his bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm. The nurse had just left after preparing him for surgery, so all he had to do now was wait. Apparently his arm was worse than he thought it was. Felix knew it probably wasn't good that he lost feeling in his left arm, but he had other things to worry about at the time. 

They said his nerves were cut. He needed surgery immediately after it happened, and he didn't get it. He was passed out on the ground for a week, then running through the woods for 2 days. The doctors said he would be lucky if he regained full feeling in his arm. He could still move it, he had full function of the arm and his hand, but he couldn't feel anything from the elbow down.

Felix knew he should call Marzia. He knew he should tell her what was going on other than ‘I'm in the hospital’, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She would just freak out more and worry the whole flight. He just wanted to feel in control of his own body again. 

He shouldn't complain, he made it out. Dan and Jack were both worse off than him, that is if they were even still alive. He was unconscious for a week, and ran without seeing either of them. They could have been dead for a while and he wouldn't know. Maybe he shouldn't have ran. He could have helped them, saved them even. 

His train of thought was interrupted by the nurses returning to take him to surgery. He glanced down at the wound on his arm. They had cleaned it out pretty well, but it still went about 3” deep, which is more than halfway through his arm, the cut itself about 5” in length. Jack really did a number on him. He doesn't blame him, obviously. He just hoped that Jack knew that.

His visitors were going to be there in 30 min, but he wouldn't be out of surgery for an hour. They would have to wait. Felix was not looking forward to them showing up. It was going to be Stephanie, Ash and Arin. Two people he would consider acquaintances and one he never even met. He was starting to regret not calling anyone else. He realized he would have to suck it up because it was too late, he was already entering the operating room. 

~~ 

Arin stepped out of the car accompanied by Stephanie, Ash and Mark. Mark had been in full panic mode since he got the phone call from Jack and Felix, Arin thought it would be a good idea to call him. Felix needed a friend right now and Arin wasn't sure that he qualified. Sure, he was on an episode of Scare Pewdiepie with Mat, but that was one of three total times he had even met the guy, the other two interactions being less than 5 minutes long. 

The group walked up the hospital, noticing a large group of people standing in front of the doors with cameras. Mark looked to his right and saw a white van with ‘CNN' printed across the side. The group started to slow down as they realized what was happening, but it was too late, they had been spotted. Within seconds they were quickly being swarmed by a group of around 30 reporters.

“Markiplier! Can you confirm that Pewdiepie has been found?”

“Is there any word on the other missing Youtubers?”

“Are you worried about your safety with the kidnapper still at large?”

Arin, Stehanie and Ash stood frozen, unsure of how to respond, or if they even should. Luckily Mark stepped in, saving the day.

“We don't know anything yet, we just got here, but we will try to keep the public informed of any updates at the discretion of local law enforcement.” It slid out of his mouth so naturally, as if he had been practicing that speech on the way here. It was smooth enough to calm down the reporters, giving the group room to slip into the hospital.

“Nice one.” Arin said as they walked up to the reception desk. Mark just grinned in response, making Arin think he actually did have that planned out before they arrived. 

They got to the desk and Stephanie took the lead, asking for the room number from the man at the desk.

“I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to let you go up without talking to the law enforcement we have here. Mr. Kjellberg is under police protection, no one can go in that room without authorization from the authorities and the patient. I can have them down here in a few minutes if you would like to take a seat.” He looked apologetic, even though he had no reason to be. They all understood the seriousness of the situation. They all sat down in silence, thinking of the past 3 weeks.

Everyone was freaking out when Felix, Dan and Jack went missing, and then Mark got the call. The police weren't taking it seriously until then, but to their credit, they kicked into overdrive when that call was made. It was all over every news station and every youtube channel. And then Mat disappeared, and the internet went insane. Everyone in the gaming community hired security guards and stayed indoors, most of them stopped uploading all together. They were being harassed by new stations to give a statement, and everyone who knew any of them had been interviewed extensively by the police. It had only been 3 days since Mat was taken, but it had felt like a lifetime. Jack, Dan, and Felix had been missing for almost 3 weeks now, so when Arin got the call that they found Felix, he couldn't help but feel his hopes rise. Dan might be alive.


	17. Mental pain

It was 15 minutes before 2 police officers and a doctor walked up to the group, the doctor motioning for them to follow them. They walked down several corridors, the three men not speaking to them until they reached one of the nurses stations.

One of the officers took their ID’s and walked over to a laptop set up on the counter, while the other wrote down their names and walked into a room being guarded by two more officers. The doctor stood silently, waiting for the officers to finnish.

They both finished within minutes, returning the IDs and telling them they were cleared to see Felix. They were about to head in when they were stopped by the doctor.

“Before you go in, I just wanted to talk to you about the situation. In situations like these, we need to be careful about what we do and say around your friend. Mr. Kjellberg seems to be handling everything very well, but we need to remember that he has just been through something traumatic. Try not to make any sudden movements, and if you get him to talk about what happened, try to be gentle and sensitive to his situation. Don't push him for information if he isn't comfortable talking about it yet. All that said, I talked with Felix and I don't think we'll have any problems.” She said with a smile.

The group promised her that they would do as she said, they didn't want Felix freaking out any more than she did. Arin was getting more worried about Dan by the second. He was only thinking of the physical harm he might be going through, but now that he thought of the mental he couldn't help but be terrified. Felix is the type to come out of a situation like this mentaly fine, but would Dan be okay? And what about Sean? Arin could easily see him being scarred for life by this. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down as he walked past the guards into Felixs room.

~~~

Jason was having a bad day. He and his friends were supposed to hang out today, they were going hunting. An hour before the group was supposed to meet up, everyone said they were too busy or sick. He didn't mind though, shit happens. He could go hunting by himself, he did all the time. But his friends weren't sick, they were at a party that Jason wasn't invited to. It was all over social media.

He had been sitting in the blind for a few hours and there wasn't a deer in sight. To be honest, he wasn't really looking. He had spent most of the time on his phone, trying not to cry as he watched all his best friends party without him.

You could say this was the last straw, Jasons life had been a living hell for the past year, for reasons he never wanted to get into. He looked down at the rifle in his hands. That wouldn't do, but he had a pistol in his car, only about 2 miles away. He sat in the blind for over an hour, trying to talk himself out of it, but eventually he decided to go back to his car. 

He climbed out of the tree and started heading back. Jason walked for a while, just him and the woods. It calmed him down, and he started to second guess his decision. He was so deep in thought, he almost didn't see the man walking towards him in the distance.

Jason froze when he finally saw him. He was covered head to toe in dirt, his pants torn to shreds with no shirt on. The man had small cuts on his legs as if he had walked through multiple thorn bushes, and no shoes on either. Jason slowly walked towards him, noticing that the man looked like he was going to collapse any second. When he got within 20 feet he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the other man.

“Please help me.”


	18. Escape

Dan woke up to the sun for the first time in 3 weeks. It felt so nice he almost didn't notice that he was still tied to a tree. Dan didn't wake up before Alex had to leave, so he left him there, tied chest first into a tree. The bark had left impressions on his chest and arms, and his wrists were rubbed raw from the rope. It was almost night when he passed out, and it looked to be noon. He had been out there for a while.

He sat up and tried to pull on the rope, but it wouldn't give. Dan decided to pull the rope up and down on the tree, so the bark would cut through the rope, but he wouldn't be able to check if it was working. The movement was agony on his back and cut up arms, but he didn't care anymore. The 4 wheeler was gone, he didn't know how long he had before Alex came back, and Dan was pretty sure his whipping wasn't over.

He was only at it for about 10 minutes before he started to hear a loud banging coming from the house. Dan froze, unsure if it was Alex or Sean. The banging continued from inside, but nothing seemed to be happening, so he started pulling on the rope faster. The outside layer of the rope broke, giving him a couple inches of slack. He pulled as hard as he could, pushing on the tree with his foot. After his third yank, the rope snapped, sending Dan flying backwards onto his back. Pain rippled through his body as he hit the ground, dirt rubbing into all his wounds. He let out a scream, causing the banging inside to stop for a moment before starting up faster than before. 

Dan sat up slowly, trying to control his breathing. He felt like he was going to pass out, but he forced himself to his feet, getting ready to run away. The only thing that stopped him was the banging inside. It looked like Alex was gone, and he would have come out if he heard Dan screaming. It had to be Jack. He turned around and started running towards the house as he untied the broken rope from his wrists. The front door was surprisingly unlocked, Dan let himself in and followed the banging to a room situated right next to the basement.

“Jack! Are you in there? It's Dan!” The banging stopped but he received no response. “Are you okay?” It was silent for a moment before he heard that sweet Irish accent.

“I have to pee.” Dan chuckled at that, it had been a while since he smiled. Dan started to cheer up a bit as he realized that Alex was gone, they were safe for now.

“Okay buddy, I'll get the door open, you just hang tight, okay.” He looked at the locks on the door, there was no way he would get through that. 5 locks, 2 deadbolts, 2 latches and a floor bolt. Dan was so happy that he had watched so much TV, because he immediately ran to the garage to find a screwdriver. He got back to the door and started praying the hinges off the frame. He surprised even himself that it only took a few minutes before he had the door off the hinges, and he and Jack took off running.


	19. You're Safe.

Mark was trying to fall asleep in the hospital chair, but those things were way too uncomfortable. Arin, Ash and Stephanie had gone to get some hotel rooms in the area, leaving Mark to watch over Felix in his sleep. The group had tried to get answers from him, but he made it very clear that he was only conscious for around 4 days. He doesn't know if they're alive or not, he just ran. The news disappointed everyone, but no one blamed him for running. They probably would have done the same thing in his situation.

Felix had gone to bed early so he would be awake when Marzia and Evelien got there. Only one more hour before they were going to land, Mark didn't know if he could face Evelien. He and Jack were so close, if they couldn't find him… Mark didn't know what he was going to do. He just felt so helpless, like nothing he did would change anything. The police said he couldn't join the search party, he was too big of a target for the kidnapper apparently. So he did all he could do, sit back and make sure Felix was okay. Even if this all ended in tragedy, at least Felix was alive. He tried to cling to that.

Mark decided to get some coffee, leaving the room and heading to the lobby. It was almost 1 am, so the hospital was pretty quiet. He moved silently to the coffee pot, filling his cup, and stepped outside to get some air. The air was cool with a slight wind, Marks ideal weather. He was enjoying the peace and quiet when he heard an ambulance in the distance. 

~~

Mat felt like he was going to vomit. The lights were way too bright, and the noise was making his head spin. There were 3 people touching him up and down, asking him questions, but he couldn't retain any of the information. A needle went into his arm, and a flashlight was shone in his eye, temporarily blinding him. It was all too much. His breathing started to speed up, his head spinning even more.

One of the EMTs flashed the light in his eyes again, Mat couldn't handle it anymore. He reached forward, grabbing the light out of his hand and threw it at the wall. The other EMT grabbed his arm, trying to hold him down. The skin contact made his stomach crawl, so he tried to pull away, ripping the IV out of his arm. He got his arm free, and swung at the other man, hitting him square in the jaw.

He felt the ambulance come to a halt, the driver muttering into a radio. Right as he was about to swing on the other man, the doors flew open. 4 people jumped into the ambulance, jumping on top of Mat as the original EMTs wrapped a soft cloth around his wrists, tying him to the gurney. He struggled against the restraints, now in a full panic attack. He closed his eyes and saw the tree, the sound of a whip cracking through the air and his own blood curdling screams. The breath was sucked out of his lungs. He knew he wasn't there anymore. He was safe, but his body didn't agree. The gurney was lifted out of the ambulance, pulling him into the night once again. The dim light made Mat calm down slightly. He felt another needle go into his arm, and the world got blurry. His head rolled to one side as he started to black out. The last thing he remembered seeing was Mark looking at him from 30 feet away.


	20. Cold

Something was wrong with Jack that Dan couldn't place. He had been silent for the majority of their walk, lost in thought. That didn't surprise Dan, they had sat in silence for almost a week. Dan was worried about his eyes, they looked glossed over and any time Dan tried to talk to the younger man, he looked like he barely absorbed what he was saying. He was in a fog, tripping over branches and aggressively scratching his arms, Dan was getting more worried by the second. 

It was only a few hours into their journey when Jack started shivering violently. The temperature hadn't dropped yet, but Jack was only in a pair of boxers, leaving most of his skin exposed to the elements. Dan wished he had something to give him, but seeing as how all he had on was a pair of pants, he couldn't be of much help. 

So the pair walked on in silence, only stopping when it got too dark to see where they were going. They found a small clearing with few rocks and sticks to lay on and set up camp. After trying and failing to start a fire, the pair decided to get some sleep. Jack was laying around 3 feet in front of Dan, shivering harder than before. Dan couldn't keep watching as Jack froze. He slowly scooted forward and wrapped his arm around Jacks waist, spooning him.

“What are you doing?” Jack asked slowly, his shivers starting to die down.

“I'm cold. Don't make it weird.”


	21. He's alive

“Stephanie, he's here! I just saw him come in on an ambulance… I don't know, he literally just got here less than a minute ago… I couldn't see anything, there were too many people in the way… I'll try to find out, just hurry up.” Mark hung up the phone and darted for the front desk.

“Hi, my friend just came in on the ambulance outside. Is he okay? Can I see him?” The man said he would find out for him and went down the hall. Mark, not knowing what to do, just stood there and waited. He was so happy they found Mat. He should have more information on the other two than Felix did, maybe they could use the info to find them. He could only hope. The man walked back to the room and apologized to Mark.

“I'm sorry but we can't let anyone see him until he gets stitched up, evaluated by our psychiatrist, and speaks to the detectives. Luckily that doesn't take long, it should be about 2 hours.” 

“His wife is on the way right now, can she see him?” Mark knew the laws were different for spouses. He might have to wait, but Stephanie could give him some information.

“Yeah, she would be clear to see him.” The man responded before returning to his work. With no other options, Mark went back to Felixs room to wake him up. He would want to know what was going on.

“Felix, wake up.” He shook him gently, trying to not scare him. It didn't matter though, as his eyes shot open immediately.

“Felix, they found Mat! I just saw them bring him in.” Mark was expecting him to be excited, but Felix had a look of extreme worry on his face.

“It takes a couple days to walk through those woods, and Mat wasn't even taken that long ago. He would've had to escape almost immediately…” Mark knew what was bothering him. If he got out right away, he probably doesn't know anything, and now that those two were found, everything was about making sure Sean and Dan are okay. Honestly, he didn't need them to be okay, he needed them to be alive. Mark wouldn't be able to handle losing two more of his friends. He could help them with processing what happened to them and dealing with any residual effects, but they needed to be alive to do that.


	22. Wake up

Arin and Mark had been hanging out with Felix when Stephanie came back from checking on Mat, tears staining her eyes. The group was glad to see her, desperate for an update.

“Is… is he okay?” Felix asked, silently praying to himself. She was still wiping tears away when she responded.

“He's going to be okay. He's getting fixed up, his back was… it was torn to shreds. The doctor said it looked like he had been whipped.” Her voice broke as she tried to continue. “But he's going to be fine. I talked to the nurse outside, she said he's moving to this room so that the police don't need to be guarding more rooms.” She trailed off at the end, staring at the ground. 

“Did he say anything about Dan or Jack?”

“Umm… No, they had to knock him out, apparently he was… attacking people in the ambulance. They said it was probably… PTSD.” A few new tears started to streak down her face as she spoke. It felt like air was sucked out of the room, everyone silently reviewing the information. This was exactly what they were afraid of. They knew they would come back with physical damage, was it too much to ask that they would be emotionally unscathed?

Noone spoke as they thought of the situation. Unsure if Mat would be okay when this was all over, unsure if Dan and Sean would be too, if they were even alive. They didn't have much time to mull it over, as the group was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Marzia.

~~~ 

Dan woke up to the peaceful sound of chirping birds. The air was nice and warm, a big improvement on the night before. He took in his surroundings, noticing Jack was already awake, vomiting behind a tree. Dan quickly stood up, walking over to comfort his friend. He rubbed small circles in his shaking back, carefully avoiding all the cuts littering his body. 

He was getting progressively more worried about Jack, his skin was pale and clammy, the cut on his face somehow looked worse than ever, and he was shaking more violently than the previous night. Something was definitely wrong. He thought back to the day before when Alex said ‘I'll do to you what I did to MatPat, or what I did to Jack’. What did he do to him? He cut up his whole body and took his clothes, that much was obvious, but there was something else going on here. Was it alcohol withdrawal? He had been drinking heavily for the last 2 weeks.

Dan decided to not bring it up, he could tell by the look on Jacks face that he wouldn't tell him anyway. It couldn't be the alcohol, or Jack would have just told him, it had to be something else. The pair started their walk once again, Dan thinking of multiple scenarios that could have caused this. The thing that worried him most was how closed off Jack seemed now. Dan did surgery on his face, watched him drink himself into oblivion, and even watched him take shits in the corner. So what could be so bad that he wouldn't want him knowing?


	23. The struggle

Sean and Dan walked for what felt like days, but the sun wasn't moving in the sky. Based on the suns location, Dan assumed it had only been a few hours. The air was hot, too hot, both boys were covered in sweat and starting to get sunburned. The only sound exchanged between them was them wincing every time sweat got into their wounds. They were about to stop and take a break when they wandered upon a dirt road, only wide enough for one vehicle. Desperate for a way out of the forest, the boys decided to follow the road the rest of the way.

Dan tried to make small talk with Jack, but was quickly shot down by one word answers and grunting. Jack was starting to get irritable, but it was probably just the heat. The only thing he could get the younger boy to talk about was water. They were losing water fast by sweating too much, and the boys were starting to become obsessed. It was the only thing they could think about, Sean was getting so desperate, he was entertaining the idea of turning back. At least the house had AC, a bed, and the mysterious liquid that made life more bearable.

Just as the boys were coming around a corner, they heard a loud bang, echoing through the trees. Dan whipped his head around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Directly behind them in the distance Alex walked toward them, gun pointing at the pair. He had missed the shot, but the pair still stood frozen in place as he slowly walked toward them. Dan instinctively put himself between Sean and Alex. He wasn't there for him in the basement, but he could be there for him now.

“I thought you were better than this. I thought you were men of your word. I told you I would let you go, both of you. All you had to do was finnish playing my games, and now I have to shoot you in the street. Unless you would like to just play the rest of the game now, and I'll let you go. Hell, I'll drive you to the hospital if you want, we're only 20 minutes away by car. So what do you say? 8 more whips for Dan and 3 shots of fun for Jack, that or death.”

~~~

The group left the room as soon as Marzia and Evelien showed up, leaving the couple to talk, and probably cry, in private. They decided to say their goodbyes and head back to the hotel, Mark let Evelien crash in his room as it was too late in the day to book a room. 

The pair stayed up all night, Mark filling her in on everything they know so far, which wasn't much. Felix was back but knew nothing, he wasn't hurt to bad besides his arm and a few deeper cuts from the forest. Mat was back, but completely unconscious because he was attacking people. His back was ripped to shreds, his wrist was broken and it didn't look like he would be 100% stable after this. As far as Sean and Dan, they knew nothing. There were search parties combing through the areas where they were both found, but they were on opposite ends of a 100 mile deep forest. 

Evelien just listened, trying to not have a breakdown. It was bad enough that her boyfriend was taken like this, but her other friends were as well. She couldn't wait to talk to Felix the next day, he was one of her best friends, and she really needed a friend right now. Not that Mark wasn't her friend, but it's different when you live so far away, you can't hang out on a whim.

After trying and failing to fall asleep, Mark decided to put on a Jacksepticeye compilation. The pair sat in silence, shedding a few tears as they thought about what he was doing right now.


	24. Mental Health

Felix was feeling better. His arm was finally healing properly, his wife was here and they moved Mat to his room so he could keep an eye on him as he slept. And sleep Mat did, not even waking when their crowd of friends showed up to see him. Everyone was incredibly nervous for him to wake up, praying that he was going to be okay, but the doctors said he needed to sleep. It was around noon when Felix was granted permission to go outside, provided that he stayed in a wheelchair. It didn't make sense as his legs were totally fine, but he wasn't going to argue.

Arin, Mark and Evelien decided to join him on his walk around the hospital, Mark pushing from behind. Felix needed the fresh air, the wind on his face making him relax slightly, if only it wasn't so hot.

“So have you put any thought into making a video? Your fans are worried about you.” Mark asked as they made their way to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, i don't know. I don't want to say anything until we know what happened to Dan and Jack. It just doesn't feel right to make a video without all the facts. I'm also not sure I'm up to it yet.”

“And that's totally understandable. You just move at your own pace, alright? Don't feel pressured to do anything until you're ready.”

“I know I just don't want to leave the fans in the dark. Just like you guys, they've all been worrying about me for weeks. I just want them to know that I'm okay.” 

Mark sent a worried look at the other two, and silently mouthed for some space. They took the hint and explained that they were thirsty before heading back to the waiting room vending machine. Mark pushed Felix out of earshot of the others and slid around the chair, facing his Swedish friend. 

“Are you? Okay I mean. You seem to be handling everything just fine, but I just wanted to check in with you. It almost feels like you haven't really processed what happened. I'm just worried about you man.” Mark spoke sweetly, but firm at the same time letting Felix know he wasn't going to drop it. They stared at each other in silence, Felix hoping he would say something else, but Mark wanted his answer, so he waited.

“You're probably right… but I was barely even there, I got lucky. I can't sit here and feel sorry for myself while they're still out there somewhere. It's not like it was even that bad. I got stabbed, that's it. It wasn't exactly traumatic, and it didn't permanently damage me too bad. I'm fine Mark, it's the others you need to worry about.” He looked to the floor as he spoke, unable to meet Marks gaze.

“You see, I don't believe you Felix. You keep saying that you're fine, that you got stabbed, you passed out, and then you ran, but I don't think that's all of it. I talked to one of the nurses, she said you woke up screaming the last few nights. You said you were awake for 4 days before you passed out, what happened on those 4 days? You think that you're fine but I can see that you aren't, so what happened to you?”

“Nothing happened! You should be worried about them, not me!” 

“... So what happened to them?” Before he knew what was happening, tears were running down his eyes as he thought about what he saw in captivity. “Felix, I know you're worried about them but I'm worried about you. You need to talk about what happened, you don't need to talk to me, but you need to talk to someone.” 

Mark stared at his friend long and hard, hoping he would open up about his mental health. When he didn't respond Mark let out a sigh and returned to the back of the chair, pushing Felix further down the road. They walked for a few minutes before Felix broke the silence.

“Every time I fall asleep, all I can hear is Jack… screaming…”


	25. Found

Felix told the group that he felt like being alone for a little bit, so they headed back to the room to leave him to his thoughts. He sat in his unnecessary wheelchair near the entrance of the hospital for over an hour, trying to enjoy the nice breeze as he listened to an audio book he bought the night before about dealing with trauma. He told himself it wasn't for him, but for Mat when he wakes up. He was about halfway done with the book when he saw Arin walking out of the building. They made eye contact, causing Arin to change course until he was standing directly in front of the other youtuber.

“Hey man, I'm going to head back to the hotel and take a shower, are you doing okay out here?” The kindness in his eyes made Felixs heart melt a little. They didn't know each other that well, but you could tell he genuinely cared for him.

“Yeah, just listening to an audio book, trying to relax a bit. Thanks for…” Felix trailed off as his eyes locked onto something behind Arin. Arin followed his gaze, turning around to see a black pickup stopped in the middle of the road.

“Who parks like that?” Arin asked with a slight chuckle, turning back to Felix. The smile left his face as Felix slowly stood up from his chair. “Hey, the doctors said-” He was cut off as the truck behind him roared to life, taking off at an alarming speed.   
He turned around again to see the truck was now gone from sight, leaving 2 people walking towards the parking lot in the distance. He could barely make them out, but it looked like one of them was dragging the other.

Arin didn't have time to process what he was looking at before Felix bolted past him in a dead sprint, running to the two figures. His brain clicked back on when he was able to make out that unmistakable mop of curly hair on one of the figures. His legs were moving before he told them to, quickly catching up to Felix as they ran together, weaving in and out of parked cars. As they got closer Arin felt his stomach drop. He could see the boys in much better detail, and immediately wished he didn't.

Dan had Jacks arm draped over his shoulder, one hand on his hip, dragging him along. Jacks head was hanging down, giving the impression that he was completely unconscious. He was in nothing but a pair of boxers, and didn't have a single spot on his body that wasn't covered in cuts, blood and dirt. Dan didn't look any better, but at least he was conscious.

Arin reached the boys first, immediately grabbing Jack out of Dans arms, unsure of where to put his hands with all the cuts. 

“He's not breathing.” Dan choked out. Arin was happier than anything to hear Dans voice again, but that was not what he wanted him to say. Felix was reaching the group as Arin picked Jack up bridal style, sprinting to the hospital entrance. Felix put his good arm around Dan, helping him walk the rest of the way. He noticed a blood trail behind them, leading all the way back to where the truck had sat. 

As the group got within 20 ft of the entrance, Arin noticed Mark standing in the doorway. His eyes went wide, and he quickly turned around, running out of view. Within seconds doctors and nurses came rushing outside, Arin gently set him down on a gurney, and he was wheeled inside. A group of around 8 people quickly swarmed Dan, lifting him up and placing him face down on the gurney. Only then did Felix see his back, ripped up worse than Mats, bleeding as if it happened mere moments ago. He too was wheeled out of view, leaving Arin and Felix standing outside, soaked in their friends blood.


	26. What happened

Arin, Felix and Mark walked back to Felix and Mats hospital room, head hung low. They entered the room, met by Stephanie, Evelien, Ash, Marzia and Mat, finally awake. The group was laughing about something, but grew quiet when they saw the look in the mens eyes, and the blood on their hands.

“Whos blood is that?” Stephanie asked, her voice shaking slightly. The boys shared a knowing look, not sure who should answer. Felix looked down at his hands, and tears started to stream down his face for the second time that day. Without looking at the group, he quickly turned and headed into the bathroom, loudly slamming the door behind him, making a few people jump. Marzia looked at the other boys before making her way toward the bathroom.

“Don't.” Mark barely whispered, but Marzia heard him, stopping with her hand on the knob. The two shared a moment of eye contact before she released the handle from her grasp. 

“What happened.” Marzia asked in as calm of a voice as she could muster. She looked back and forth between the boys, neither responding. “Whose blood is that?” She asked, more firmly this time. Mark was the one to answer. 

“Dans.” Before anyone could even take in what was just said, Arin had turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Mark with the only one with answers.

“Is he… alive?” Ash finally spoke up, not knowing if she wanted an answer or not. 

“Yeah… He's alive. They just walked up to the hospital.”

“They?” This time it was Evelien who asked the question.

“Yeah, Dan and Sean. They just got here.” He was expecting them to cheer, or cry or do anything, but the group just looked at him, sensing they were still missing information.

“Is Jack alive?” Ash asked again. Silence filled the air as they looked to Mark for answers. His eyes were locked on the floor before finally looking up and replying.

“I don't know.” 

The group sat in silence for a few more moments before Ash decided to get up and head to the door, Evelien and Stephanie quietly following her downstairs. Marzia slowly turned back to the bathroom, gently knocking on it before announcing herself. The door slowly opened, allowing Marzia to slip in before it was quickly closed again. 

Being the only two left in the room, Mark went to sit by Mats bed, hanging his head in his hands. They sat in silence for a good 5 min before Mat got up the courage to ask Mark for more information.

“What do you mean you don't know?” Mark straightened up, hands rubbing at his eyes to remove his tears before looking at Mat.

“Um… he wasn't breathing when he got here. They were… They were doing CPR, and when I saw him being wheeled down a hallway someone pulled out those paddle things and they started shocking him. His skin was starting to turn blue.” Mat sat back in his seat, processing the information, before deciding to share some of his own.

“When I was taken, Dan and Sean… They were not doing good. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I was only there for a few hours, but they didn't even acknowledge my existence. I was under the impression that Jack, well that he was trying to give himself alcohol poisoning. I saw Dan twice drag a knife across his own skin, just watching the blood pool out. I'm not saying that Jack did that to himself, but it's very possible.” 

Mark never broke eye contact when Mat was speaking, he started to tell him of everything that happened in captivity, revealing a lot more than Felix did. The two sat in that room for what felt like an hour, before he got to the part about finding the boy in the woods. Mark told him about how he tried to attack the EMTs, which he didn't remember doing.

“Are you okay? Like mentally, are you okay?” Mark asked his friend.

“I don't know, but you shouldn't be worried about me or Felix. It's Dan and Sean I'm worried about. From what I saw, I don't know if they will ever be okay again. I don't know what happened after I left, but I can only assume it got much worse.”


	27. Worry

Arin Hanson had been pacing in the quiet hospital room for over 3 hours, casting worried glances at his unconscious best friend. They knocked him out when he got to the hospital, saying he was in too much pain to stay awake. He was supposed to wake up over an hour ago, but he just sat there, looking broken.

Arin could only look at him for a few moments before needing to tear his eyes away. His arms were ripped to shreds, his back even worse, and he looked extremely underweight. That wasn't what worried him the most, it was the look on his face. He just looked so sad, broken almost. He wasn't sure he could do this. Arin had always been good with people, but he didn't know what he is supposed to say when Dan wakes up. First he needs to figure out how bad it is, his emotional state. He just hoped it wasn't worse than his physical state, but he wasn't holding his breath on that one.

He needed some air, taking one final glance at Dan, he walked out of the room. He got his phone out, wanting to call Suzy, as he walked past another room he was familiar with. He wanted to walk past but his legs stopped him, slowing down to look inside. 

Mark, Evelien and Marzia sat around a hospital bed, a still Sean situated in the middle. Arin had to move quickly, not wanting to look at him with those tubes in his throught. Arin tried not to think about how dead he looked as he shuffled outside. He knows he should feel better, everyone was here, they were all alive, but somehow seeing how bad it had been only made him feel worse. He almost wished he was back when Felix was the only one here, almost. 

As he stepped outside he was immediately stopped by 3 men in tuxedos and sunglasses, even though the sun had just gone down.

“Arin Hanson?” The man in the middle asked as he put a hand out to stop him from walking any further.

“Umm… yes?” 

“I’m agent Williams with the FBI, we were wondering if we could talk to you and your coworkers, are they here?”

“Coworkers?” He asked, feeling unsure of himself.

“Yes, the other youtube celebrities. We have reason to believe you are all still in danger, and wanted to review your options with you. We have set up a safe house for anyone on our immediate danger list, while we cannot force you to go, we highly suggest this course of action. We still don't know how the suspect was able to kidnap someone in Europe and bring them all the way here undetected. At the current moment the only people we suspect of being in danger are part of the gaming comunity. Your friends…” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and began to read off of it. “Ethan, Ross, and Brian are already at the safe house, along with your wife. Felix is being moved today, the others still need time to recover but will be moved at the earliest convenience. We must get you to the safe house, everything has been arranged. We are still contacting dozens of others, but you and everyone inside are highest priority on our list, we need to get you to safety before the suspect strikes again.”

Arin stood there, taking in all the information. If Suzy was already there, he was deffinatly going. He just had one question.

“What make you think he's going to go after more people?” The agents shared a look as the one on the right slowly pulled another paper out of his pocket, holding it out to Arin.

“We located his home, this was found in the room the victims were being held.”

\---I’M JUST GETTING STARTED---


	28. The Mansion

Ethan Nestor sat on his new bed in his new temporary home thinking of how his life was turned upside down so quickly. He had been escorted on a private jet to the biggest mansion he had ever stepped foot in, somewhere in Canada, and shown to his room. He was the only one there besides the 50+ guards patrolling outside at all times, but he was starting to feel lonely. All of his closest friends were in danger, and he didn't know what was going on with any of them. There was no service out here, not that it mattered as the FBI had taken his phone away, and he was starting to worry. He had heard that Sean and Dan were found from the agents, but no one would tell him if they were okay, or if Mark was okay, or anything about anyone. He was told to relax and leave it to them. So that's what he was doing.

Sitting alone in that giant house for 7 hours, he decided to have a look around. He ended up finding that the main living room area, with attached kitchen, was not as big as you would expect, but that was probably to make room for the giant indoor pool, 5 bathrooms and 15 bedrooms. You could tell this place was made to house a large group of people. He did hear the agents say ‘Code name: The Mansion’. While the building was huge and the pool was nice, the place was pretty run down. It looked clean, but very old, and Ethan found 2 bullet holes in one of the bathrooms. Alot of people were probably kept here while their lives were being threatened, he was just another in a long line.

After resigning on the couch to watch a movie, Ethan found he couldn't concentrate on the plot. It was just too quiet, too empty. He normally had no problem being alone, but a house this size felt different, and kinda scary. That's why his heart almost stopped when he heard the front door open from down the hall. He tried to take a calming breath as he looked to the window and saw a guard standing right outside. He was safe while they were here. Feeling slightly more confident, he moved so he could peer down the hall at the front door.

To be honest, he didn't immediately recognize the figures he saw walking towards him, but that was quickly fixed when they stepped into the living room area where the light shone on their faces. It was Ross, Brian and Suzy from game grumps. He took a huge sigh of relief, not only because he was safe, but it felt like his exile had ended. Finally someone to talk to.

“Ethan, right? Is there anyone else here or are we early?” Ross asked with a big smile on his face, taking the house in as he spoke.

“Oh, yeah. Just me so far. How was the flight?” The group started exchanging pleasantries before they were shown to their rooms. Why it mattered which rooms they stayed in was beyond Ethan, but he was trying to just go with the flow. The group returned from taking their things into their respective rooms, meeting back in the living room. Ethan was about to strike up another conversation when an agent walked in, asking them to meet him at the dining room table. 

“Alright everyone listen up, got some things to get out of the way before we leave you to it. First of all we have some rules around here. As you know, no phones, laptops or anything that can be used to contact the outside world or otherwise be tracked to this location are allowed on the premises. You are allowed to go outside but not to leave the property. We have one phone in the kitchen that can only call one number, and thats the office in Quantico. Do not use in unless it is a life or death emergency, we will contact local police if we think its necessary. Not that you will need it as we have over 50 guards patrolling the surrounding area at all times. Noone gets in, noone gets out. We aren't your maids so cooking and cleaning, thats on you. All the cupboards and the fridge are fully stocked and will be restocked when necessary by one of our agents. Above all I want you to understand you will be safe here.”

He took a pause, looking around the room for confirmation that they were listening to what he said. Everyone was listening intently, nodding their heads as he spoke.

“Alright, be prepared to get alot of roommates in the next couple days, we have confirmed 10 people who will be staying here, probably more if we can convince them to come, so it might get crowded. This is why you all have your own rooms, privacy and all that. We know that you will probably miss your family, but we can't support all of you, so only targets will be staying here, but we will allow letters to be written every 3 days, our agents will hand deliver them to whoever you want. Please remember to not give away any detail as to where you are. You never know whose hands the letters will end up in.”

He paused again as he started to pull out forms from his satchel when Ross spoke up.

“What about Suzy? She's family and she's here.” He asked with a puzzled look on his face. It was nothing against her, he just didn't understand.

“Normally yes, but after we got into the suspects house, we found his laptop open on YouTube. We had a look at his subscriber list, which was actually very short, but your channel, cat gaming or something, was on that list. All of your channels were on that list and that's why we have you here. It's possible he goes after someone not on that list, but unlikely. So we will protect you here in this house until he is caught, or until you tell us you want to leave. That would be a very poor decision by the way, if your four friends are any indication of what happens if you leave.”

“Speaking of that, do you know how they're doing?” Ethan asked, wanting some answers other than ‘their alive’.

“I do not, but you can see for yourself soon. Felix, Mat and Mark will be joining us in around 5 hours. Because of their sustained injuries, we will have a doctor on call at all times, and will visit the house once every few days to make sure they are healing properly.”

“What about Dan, Jack and Arin?” It was Brian who spoke up this time.

“Dan and, I'm assuming you're talking about Sean, are not ready to be moved yet. Dan should be good in a few days, we still don't know when Sean will be well enough for transport. As for Arin, he said he's not leaving without Dan, so they should both be along in a day or two. Normally we wouldn't move someone in his condition, but this is kind of an emergency, a hospital 25 miles from where they were being held for a month isn't exactly the best place to hide. They are being guarded in their rooms, so no reason to worry. We will catch this guy, hopefully soon so we can get you all home. Now onto more important matters. I need you to sign some paperwork.”


	29. The Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woow. Its been a while. Just wanted to let you all know, this is still happening. I had a crazy month, new house, new job, got married. Its been alot. I'm back, and im going to try to resume my once a weekish thing I was doing before, but we will see. Sorry this chapter kinda sucks, just needed a transition type of a chapter. I might be putting out a few more this week, to make up for the last month, but once again, its not set in stone. I get ideas at random times so idk. I will never give up on this fic, do not worry.  
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy where the story goes  
> \--Doggo

Marks leg bounced up and down in worry as he stared at his wounded theorist friend. It was impossible to stop worrying as he watched his friend wince in pain every time the jet hit turbulence. At first he tried to make sure Mat was okay, offering to grab him water and move his seat, but he could tell that Mat was starting to get annoyed of all the attention as of late. So Mark sat across the aisle, bouncing his leg up and down and bitting his lip to prevent himself from trying to help.

Felix seemed fine, physically at least. Right before they left the hospital, the doctors tested to see if he was getting the feeling back in his hand, he was not. He seemed pretty down about it, but all things considered, he was doing pretty good. He didn't want to leave Marzia again, but she told him he had to go or she would never stop worrying about him. 

Trying to distract himself, Mark decided to make a video for his other channel. As much as he didn't want to, he decided they need to stop the Unus Annus clock. The whole point was that it needed to be a year long, but he had no idea how long he and Ethan would be gone. The clock could run out while they were still away, and he didn't want that. He knew the fans would understand as he recorded a short video and posted it with no editing or tags. He needed to be quick as they would be arriving in a few minutes, and his phone would be taken before they even exit the jet.

Mark sat back as he thought about how lucky he was. Jack, Felix, Dan and Mat. He could have very easily made that list. The only reason he was here was because the kidnapper was subscribed to Unus Annus, not even his main channel. He was subbed to Ethan though, so that's probably the only reason he even watched Unus Annus. Most people that subbed to all his friends were subbed to him too, so he had the weirdest feeling that Alex didn't like him. Maybe that would mean he would leave him alone completely, he didn't know. He just prayed he would never get the chance to find out.

The plane landed quite smoothly, Mat only wincing slightly. The group got ready to leave as a few agents boarded to grab Mat and Felixs bags, Mark being unharmed carried his own luggage. The disembarked the jet in the cover of night, surrounded on all sides by men in black suits, it was a little surreal. They were lead to a black SUV sitting in the middle of the airport runway, the vehicle already running. Once inside, one agent smacked the window twice and they took off. The second the car rolled onto a real road, 3 identical SUVs pulled in front of them, 2 behind. They all knew the gravity of the situation, but this seemed to solidify it as the SUVs slowly started pulling off onto seemingly random roads. You didn't have to be a genius to see that they were trying to confuse the vehicles for one another, in case they were being followed. Marks heart sunk at the thought that Alex could be watching them right now.

Felix, on the other hand, was preoccupied. Not with thoughts of fear or worry. He had started having flashbacks recently, some of Sean, some of Dan, but mostly they surrounded himself. Getting stabbed and running through the woods seemed to be the most prevalent ones, though him running up to Jack and Dan outside the hospital seemed to pop up quite often too. 

It started with just flashes of memories here and there, which he mostly ignored, but quickly moved to full blown panic attacks every time he closed his eyes. During this particular car ride he couldn't stop thinking about Alex slowly dragging a knife over Dans arm, and Dan dropping to his knees in pain. He could remember every detail, every sound, every smell, every slice. 

Felix tried looking out the window to distract himself would work, but being moved to a safe house made him feel even more uneasy. This wasn't over yet. He felt like he was still running through the forest, wondering when or if he would be saved from this nightmare. But Felix wasn't stupid, he knew his whole world had changed forever, he just wished he could go back to slight normalcy for at least a few days.

Mat was just trying to ignore the pain in his back. Every time any part of his body moved, it felt like his whole torso was on fire. His arm, his leg, his head, even smiling seemed to somehow inflame his back. More than anything he wished he could just lay down, but the doctors said he can't lay on his back for at least 3 weeks. 3 weeks of sleeping on his stomach. 

Mat always had a problem with sleeping on his stomach, he would get nightmares. Every time, without fail, stomach sleeping equals nightmares, and you wouldn't have to be a psychologist to guess what his nightmares were about now.

He hated the fact that this was affecting him in this way. He had gotten off easy, it was Felix, Dan and Jack who got to feel like this, not him. He was only there for a few hours, it shouldn't be this bad. So he ignored it, and everything else, pretending he was fine between winces and refusing the help of others. He shouldn't be the one they're focused on.


	30. The transitions

"We have this sheet of paper that we will be hanging on the fridge. This is your shopping list. Food, drinks, soap, movies, everything and anything you need, just jot it down on the list. Once every 3 days we will come and collect the list and an agent will return with all of your requested items. Over here we have the emergency phone line…" Felix was trying to pay attention to the agent galavanting across the living room, but it wasn't possible. He knew he should be, but the pain in his arm was reaching an 8 on the pain scale, and it was taking all his concentration to look like he was fine. 

The agent said something as he gestured to the sliding glass doors going out to the patio, and the group followed him as he headed outside to show off the security cameras. Felix took this opportunity to fall back, quickly jogging to the kitchen and grabbing a glass out of the cupboard. As soon as the glass was filled with water he pulled a small pill bottle from his pocket and quickly swallowed one of the little yellow tablets. He regained his composure as he met back up with the group, noone noticing his absence.

He was trying to avoid taking the pills, he had even told himself he wouldn't take any. Felix always hated the effect of drugs, but he couldn't avoid it, not this time. He really thought it wouldn't hurt this bad, thinking back he should have known based on how many things they were pumping into him at the hospital. 

As he was zoning out on the lecture, Felix cast a glance at Mat, and he looked comatosed. Mat had been trying 10 times harder than Felix to fake being okay, but he had already taken 2 painkillers on the car ride over. He had the same prescription as Felix, so he was aware of the fact that he was only supposed to take 1. He couldn't even imagine the amount of pain he must be in. Well he can now, because it's probably none. He looked like a total zombie. Felixs stomach dropped as he tried to mentally prepare himself to become zombified as well, hoping him taking less would mean more control over himself.

The group dispersed and the agent left the building, situating himself outside the front door. Felix made a B line for his new bedroom, trying to avoid the stares he was getting from his fellow youtubers. All he could see was pitty, and he couldn't handle that today. With nothing else to do, he flopped onto the bed and slowly fell asleep as the drugs started to take over, making his body feel heavy and numb.

Mat, on the other hand, didn't make it to his room, passing out on the couch. Mark sat on the other couch watching over his friend as he slept. Every movement made him feel uneasy, afraid Mat would end up falling off the couch, worried he was having a nightmare, scared he would end up ripping one of his stitches. This went on for almost an hour before Ethan slowly made his way to the living room.

"Hey, didn't know you were here yet." Ethan said, quickly being shushed by Mark as he gestured towards the couch.   
"Sorry." He responded in a hushed voice, not able to take his eyes off Mat. "Um… how are they doing?" He asked as he lowered himself on the couch next to Mark.

"I don't know. I wanna say they've been doing better than when they got to the hospital, but I don't know if thats true." Ethan nodded as he took in the information, still staring at his sleeping friend.

"What about Dan and Sean?" 

"I would argue that Dan is doing worse than anyone else, and I don't know about Sean, he hadn't woken up yet when I left. I sat with him in the hospital, he's… he's not in very good shape."

"What happened to him?"

"He got cut up pretty bad, his face… well It'll be a really cool scar. I don't know what else happened. The doctors wouldn't tell us anything without his permission, and Dan hasn't spoken a word about the whole ordeal since they got back. The only ones we got info from was Felix and Mat, and they have weeks worth of gaps in knowledge. We have no idea what happened." The boys sat in silence, thinking about the turn their lives had taken. 

"So what are we going to do?"

"I dunno. I think we should just try to be there for them, and make sure they're doing okay. Maybe try to get more information for context, but don't push it."

"You think they're going to go back to making videos?"

"Honestly, I don't think so."

Dan woke up from his nap in more pain than he had been in in his entire life. Something about the security of being in a hospital allowed his body to start processing the pain correctly, something he was not happy with at all. It literally felt like someone doused him in gasoline and set him on fire. Luckily it only took a few minutes before he convinced his nurse to increase his morphine levels. 

Dan looked around the room, thankful that noone was in there. When he was being held, the only thing he wanted was to see his friends again, but now that he was back, he just wanted to be left alone. Felix, Mark, Mat and Arin had been there already, trying to get him to talk and saying goodbye. He only had one word responses for them, making them give up for a while, but Dan was sure Arin would be back any minute to continue trying to be a good friend.

It's not that he didn't appreciate it, he did, but he had said around 100 words in the last month, he felt out of practice when it came to small talk, and talking in general. And besides, what was he going to say? As if the universe was listening in, Arin walked in the room, looking excited and scared at the same time.

"Good, you're awake. Um… did you have a good nap?" He asked looking unsure of himself as he sat down in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

"Ya."

"Good, good. So um… how are you feeling?"

"Shitty." Both men struggled to try and make the conversation less awkward, failing ever time.

"Oh, yeah I bet. Uh are you hungry? I could go get you something."

"No I'm fine. How's Sean?"

"Uh, he's still asleep. They, um, they took out the breathing tubes, so he's breathing on his own again."

"Good, good." Talking to Arin was never this hard before, but Dan had a feeling it would be this way with everyone from now on. Everyone aside from Jack. He was just happy he was alive, he didn't want to come back without him. 

The rest of the night was spent with Arin showing Dan funny internet videos he had missed out on on his phone. Arins heart sunk a little every time he saw a small smile on Dans face. It was just a small smile, never a laugh or even a chuckle. What he would give to hear that laugh again.


	31. The Voice

Mat shot up off the couch, soaked in sweat, panting. A quick scan of his surroundings let him know that he was safe and alone in the mansion. His breath slowed to a normal pace as he sat up and took a glance at the window. It was night, he had to have been asleep for a few hours. He didn't remember his nightmare, but knew it was worse than his last few. 

Adrenaline still pumping through his body, he slowly stood up and headed to the kitchen for some water. His mouth was so dry, a weird contrast to the rest of his body, still soaked in sweat and probably tears. He filled and emptied the glass 3 times, much more thirsty than he thought. Mat slowly set the glass down, placing his elbows on the counter, his head now in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm himself down.

"Hey." Mat spun around to see Felix standing next to the fridge, watching him with a soft look on his face.

"Hey, whatcha doin?"

"Just needed to go to the bathroom. I kinda forgot where they were and didn't want to accidentally walk into someones room while they're sleeping naked or something." He added a chuckle at the end, but the humor was obviously forced.

"Yeah, um I think that door leads to a bathroom." Mat gestured to the door directly behind the other man.

"Thanks. Um… You okay?" Felix honestly didn't know Mat very well, and they never interacted during their kidnapping, but they were in this together now. It was the first time they had talked to each other in almost a year. Felix thought about how they had no idea it would come to this back then. Everything was a lot simpler.

"Yeah, just a bad dream."

"I get it. I've had my fair share of those recently."

"Of course you do." Felix didn't like the way he put an emphasis on the 'you'. As if he didn't deserve to have nightmares.

"Yeah, well ima go to the bathroom, I'm always here if you wanna talk about it, you know where I live." The laugh was a little less forced this time.

"Some other time." 

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Felix, don't worry about me."

~~~~~

Felix made his way out of the bathroom, noticing that Mat must have gone back to his own room. He prayed that, for Mats sake, the nightmares were over for tonight so he can get some proper rest. He saw the lights on in his room as he approached. He didn't remember leaving the lights on, he didn't even remember turning them on. After deciding he had gone insane, Felix made his way into the room, turning off the lights and crawling back in to bed.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw a shadow shift near the closet. He shot up quickly, looking around the room for several minutes before realizing how stupid it was to be scared. He was surrounded by FBI agents in a safe house in the middle of nowhere Canada. There would be no way for Alex to find him. That's what he thought, at least until he heard a voice speak up 

"Hi Felix!"


	32. The Meeting

The sight of Alex walking slowly toward him made Felix feel dizzy. How could he be here?

"You even think about screaming and I'll kill everyone in this building, starting with you." Felix couldn't move a muscle, let alone scream. He tried to nod his head slightly to show that he understood, but he couldn't.

"Ya know, I realized something very interesting the other day. I told Mat that he could go home. Dan and Jack tried to escape, but again, I ultimately gave them permission to leave. Do you see where I'm going with this? Cause I don't remember telling you that you could leave Felix." Alex slowly sat down on the bed next to Felix as he spoke, only inches away from him. Felix could feel his brain turning back on as he realized the danger he was currently in.

"I… I'm sorry." 

"Oh I know you are Felix, that's why we're going to make this right. One more game, for old times sake, and I'll leave you four alone."

"What about everyone else?" Alex chuckled at that.

"Well, I guess you will just have to wait and see, but if you don't do what I say, everyone dies. You four, all your other friends here, I might even make a few special trips to… Say, your house. Your wife is still there right?" A big grin stretched across his face as he spoke, the power he had making him giddy.

"Okay, um… What do I need to do? I'll do it if you just leave us alone." Alex stared at Felix for a moment, noticing that his hands were shaking. He took note of this, as he was never this scared in captivity.

"Did you know that the world record for staying awake the longest is only 11 days? I would have thought it was longer. You see, the problem is that you start hallucinating, stumbling, lotta anger problems and falling asleep without even noticing it after only like, 3 days. How long have you gone without sleeping Felix? What's your record? 1 or 2 days? I want to run my own experiment. How long can you stay awake if your life depended on it? I personally think the record could be easily broken if you needed to do it, what do you think?"

"Um… I don't know." He responded honestly. "I don't think I can do that."

"Well I guess we will find out! This is exciting. I hope you're not tired because your time starts now. 12 days and you're free to go. Any questions?"

"I… how will you know I didn't go to sleep?" Alex looked excided by this question. He slowly stood back up and walked to Felixs window, waving his hand in front of it. Suddenly, like a scene from a movie, 3 red dots appeared on Felixs chest, leaving as quickly as they came.

"You made me famous Felix. Everyone on earth knows who I am, and you would be surprised how easy it was to find… like-minded individuals to help me out. We will be watching you, making sure you're playing the game. I hope you have fun, this is going to be great." With that, Alex walked over to the door, hand on the knob, ready to leave.

"One more thing. You can't tell anyone I was here, so we will be watching closely. Sadly we have no way to hear your conversations, so I'm just going to assume that you told anyone you talk to for longer than, say, 30 seconds. Now I don't want to have to shoot someone in front of you just because you talked to them, so try to keep your distance. Don't want anyone getting hurt do we?"


	33. Where?

Jack couldn't tell if he was awake or not, unable to open his eyes, unable to form any coherent thoughts, but he knew he wasn't dead. He could hear the sound of someone saying something far away from him, almost like a whisper. He tried to force himself awake, but his brain was too foggy to fully focus on his task as he swayed between trying to wake and the powerful allure of sleep.

After what felt like hours of trying to get some footing, he felt himself starting to wake up, the voice becoming recognisable, it was Evelien. His brain kicked into overdrive as he forced himself into consciousness. 

His mouth was extremely dry, and his throat felt like it was on fire. He tried to ignore it and focus on opening his eyes, but before he could a powerful wave of nausea washed over him. He suppressed the urge to vomit as his eyes started to slowly flitter open, the faint beeping of a heart monitor growing louder until it felt as if his ear drums were going to burst. His eyes finally cooperating, he snapped them open only to be blinded by the harsh light filling the room he was in. He tried to lift his hand up to block the light but found that his limbs felt as though they were made of lead.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, he was able to identify the figures in the room, Evelien and Arin. They looked relieved, talking over each other loudly, making Seans already ringing ears feel as though they were going to start bleeding. He could tell that they were trying to talk to him, but none of what they were saying was registering. Sean tried to turn his head away from the harsh light, but the second his head moved the world started to spin, making the nausea from moments ago return in full force. He closed his eyes again, trying to ground himself. After a few minutes passed, the dizziness hadn't subsided, but the ringing had started to come down, allowing him to listen in on the conversation happening in front of him. His thoughts were still jumbled, leaving him confused and frustrated as he tried to focus.

"I don't know, it's like he can't hear us." It was Arin. The frustration turned to fear as his brain filled in the blanks for him, Alex had gotten to Arin.

"I can go get one of the doctors to come take a look at him." That voice was new, unrecognizable.

"I don't care about your rules, you need to tell me what's wrong with him!" Evelien, that made the fear turn to utter panic. He tried to shoot up to a sitting position, opening his eyes once more, only making it about halfway before the noise level in the room doubled and he was blinded by the whiteness that surrounded him. His head felt like he was just hit with a baseball bat, his muscles were set on fire and his stomach erupted in flips. It was too much, and he quickly slipped back into unconsciousness before his head could hit the pillow beneath him.


	34. Acting Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally managed to get another chapter done.  
> Writers block woes  
> Just a fair warning, the action is going to be mostly slowed down for while. Mostly taking about feelings and shit. Still alot more to come and alex is still out there 😬  
> I'm honestly not sure how long this story will go, but based on where I am now and where the story is going in my head, i can easily see this hitting 60+ chapters. So strap in. Let me know if you think I should split it up into another story after all the main stuff is done because I have alot of ideas for "aftermath" of all this, and if I include it here this story will be hitting 150+ chapters (Im not even kidding).   
> So let me know what you think.  
> 😘😘

"Dan, we understand that this experience was traumatic for you, but you need to tell us what happened so we can track this guy down. You can't keep stonewalling us like this, give us something, anything."

"I don't know anything."

"You know a lot more than you think you do. Think back, was there anything he said that stood out to you, anything he would do?"

"Was there anything he did that stood out? Yeah, there was that time when he kidnapped and tortured us, that really stood out." The agents shared a look at Dans sarcasm, after trying for over 3 hours, these were the only types of answers Dan was willing to give.

"I think that's enough for today. We will be back tomorrow with more questions, hopefully you will be more forthcoming then." The agents gave Dan a soft, almost sad, smile before they exited the room. They were gone for less than 10 seconds before their presence was replaced by Arin. Dan inwardly groaned, wanting nothing more than to be alone.

"How did it go?" Arin asked as he sank into the hospital chair next to the bed.

"Giant waste of time." 

"Why do you think that?" Arin put his hand on Dans, trying to show him that he was here to support him and talk. The contact made Dans skin crawl, and he pulled away quickly.

"Nevermind."

"Don't do this Dan."

"Do what?"

"This. You're shutting down, you're not talking to anyone, you're not sleeping. I'm trying to help you here, and I know it's hard but you need to talk to me." 

"I don't need to talk to anyone, I just wanna go home."

"You know you can't."

"Obviously." Arin shifted in his chair, sliding to the edge to be as close to Dan as he could, careful not to touch him after last time. 

"Look, I know this sucks, but it's only been 2 days, it'll get better. I promise you." Dan looked everywhere but at his friend, letting out a sign. 

"Whatever. I'm going to try and get some sleep before we need to leave tonight." He shifted in his bed, laying on his side to avoid any pressure on his back.

"Okay… um, I'll wake you up before we need to leave. Do you need anything?" Arin slowly walked toward the door, knowing full well that Dan was just trying to get rid of him.

"No."

"Okay… goodnight buddy."

He turned off the light, slowly shutting the door behind him. Once he heard the click of the latch, his body relaxed and he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He didn't know what to do, how to help his friend. His breath began hitching as he realized he had started to cry. Arin took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He turned to walk down the hall as he recited a mantra in his mind. It's okay, he's going to be fine. It's okay, he's going to be fine. We can figure this out.

He tried to keep himself from his impending breakdown as he walked back to Seans room, stopping himself when his hand rested on the door knob. A few deep breaths and a concerned glance from the officer posted outside later, and he slowly opened the door. 

Arin felt his heart stop, he was sure of it. Inside the dimly lit room, Sean sat upright in his bed, eating green Jello, watching a game show on the TV.

"You're… you're awake?" Sean jumped at the sudden noise, pulling him from his trance on Jeopardy.

"Arin?" He set down his spoon, readjusting himself as his friend approached him. "Where's Dan?"

"He's fine, he's in another room, sleeping. Did you just wake up?"

"I've been up for about an hour. A doctor came in and talked to me but other than that you're the first one to come and see me. Where is everyone else? I was expecting a big welcome home party with all my friends and family sobbing at my feet." He let out a light chuckle. Arin felt himself relax slightly. Sean seemed to be in high spirits. This is good.

"I think Evelien is at the hotel, everyone else is who knows where. The FBI came at took them all to a safe house until they can catch the guy who did this. I can call her if you want, shes been worried about you."

"No shit, I've been missing for a month. You don't need to call her, I'm sure she'll turn up." Sean immediately turned his attention back to the tv. "Did you know Alex Trebek died?"

Arin felt his body tense back up. Less good. 

"Um, yeah. A couple weeks ago I think. Are you sure you don't want me to call her?"

"That's sad, I liked him." Sean returned his attention to his Jello, a small smile on his face as he watched the tv with full concentration.

"Uhh… Felix and Mat are both okay too. They were found a week ago. They're at the safe house."

"Mat?"

"Yeah, Matpat."

"Didn't realize he was missing." Arin tilted his head slightly in confusion at that.

"He said he was with you guys, he was with you for a few hours while you were… gone."

"I don't remember that." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you remember anything?"

"I remember a lot, but not that."

"Makes sense I guess. He said you were pretty drunk when he got there. Do you remember drinking?" Sean chuckled.

"Drinking is 90% of what I remember."

"What's the other 10%?"

"Pain… Oh, and screaming. Not sure who was screaming. Probably me." 

"Are you okay man? You're acting a little weird." Sean sighed, finally rotating himself to face him. He locked eyes with Arin, looking annoyed.

"Look, I'm on a lot of drugs right now, I died 2 days ago, after being kidnapped and tortured for a month. I think I'm allowed to 'act a little weird'." He returned his attention to the tv, ignoring the look his friend was giving him. "Germany! Oh shit, France, really? I've never been very good at Jeopardy."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Evelien?"

"You can leave if you want, Arin. You don't need to try and call in my girlfriend so I won't be alone, I'll be fine."

"No, I just thought you would want to see her."

"Are you leaving or not?" Seans dancing around the topic didn't go unnoticed.

"I'll stay if that's okay."


End file.
